| Remarks |
Little Chucky Creek where the species is found, is a small, moderate gradient tributary to the Nolichucky River, in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province. The reach of Little Chucky Creek is about 5-7 m wide, has alternating riffles, runs, and pools, and is a watershed used primarily for grazing. Although we observed some siltation, bank erosion was minimal, and the reach was well shaded by riparian vegetation. This stream section contained extant populations of the Cumberland Bean (Villosa trabalis), Rainbow (Villosa iris), Mountain Creekshell (Villosa vanuxerumensis), and Tennessee Clubshell (Pleurobema oviforme); these mussels are indicators of high water quality (V. trabalis is endangered and P. oviforme and V. vanuxemensis are considered of special concern. Suitable habitat for N. crypticus in Little Chucky Creek is patchy. Upstream of the Bible Bridge road crossing, madtoms were found above a bedrock riffle in a 10-m run bordered by a Justicia bed. The run was 19-29 cm (mean 23.4 cm) deep, with a substrate of slab rocks over pea-size flat gravel, and had moderate flow (average 22.6 cm/sec). Similar habitat was not observed in extensive sampling upstream and downstream of this reach and no Noturus crypticus were recovered.
Three areas of potential Noturus crypticus habitat were observed in about 300 m of stream at the mouth of Jackson Branch. Primary habitat again was slow riffles and runs with moderate flow (24 cm/sec) in shallow water (range 13-27 cm, mean 20.4 cm) over pea-size flat gravel intermixed with slab rock and cobble. In the most productive area, three mad toms were found in about 29 sq. m. Madtoms often group during fall and winter (the most productive sampling periods for crypticus) and may be more widely dispersed during the spring and summer. The dense concentrations of this fish should not be expected at any time. In surveys, crypticus was frequently associated with the Central Stoneroller (Campostoma anomalum), Bigeye Chub (Hybopsis amblops), Striped Shiner (Luxilus chrysocephalus), Banded Sculpin (Cottus carolinae), Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blennioides), Redline Darter (E. rufilineatum), Stripetail Darter (E. kennicotti), and Banded Darter (E. zonale) (Ref. 56218).
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