Abstract:
Over the last hundred years several studies of major tributaries of the Alabama River have been made. The first published account of fishes from the Cahaba River is in Gilbert's (1891) report. He listed twenty-three species from Helena in Shelby County. Since that time Cahaba River fishes have been reported only with regard to revisions of groups and descriptions of new species.
This survey of the fish fauna of the Cahaba River drainage system is based on specimens from thirty-six collections (Map); twenty-two were made by me, and fourteen were available in the University of Alabama Ichthyological Collection (UAIC). All of the specimens are catalogued and deposited in that collection.
Unless otherwise stated in the station description, collections were made with minnow seines. This excluded from the survey forms such as larger suckers, gars, bowfins, and sturgeons which are not normally captured this way, but, undoubtly, occur in the drainage system. This study is further limited since some areas were not adequately collected (Map).
