Not nearly as common as the brown bullhead in New York, black bullhead are restricted to the upper Genesee River drainage, a few locations in the Lake Ontario drainage, and in tributaries of the St. Lawrence River. The black, like the brown and yellow bullhead, is found in silty water and soft mud bottoms and avoids cold, clear water. This is the smallest of the bullheads found in New York, seldom reaching 12 inches in length. Its small size and restricted distribution make it less popular than the brown or yellow bullheads, although it is a good food fish.

Distribution of black bullhead in NY state.

A 233 KB image of the black bullhead is also available for download.