and emergent vegetation, the ideal habitat for the hatching of their eggs. Water levels substantially rise before spawning. Salinity can be a problem for reproduction. Spawning can occur from 1.4 to 2.0 ppt of salinity which eggs and yearlings not being able to survive a salinity of over 9 ppt. The minimum dissolved oxygen during the spring and summer is 5 mg/L. Recruitment success is related to water-level and drought conditions, as well as the water-level recession rate after the spring peak. More than one male will assist in spawning by moving the female to the top of the water to help mix eggs and milt. Life history Reaching a recorded maximum of 127 years of age, the bigmouth buffalo is currently the longest living freshwater teleost (a group of more than 12,000 species) by more than 50 years, shattering all previous records for this group. With a previous maximum longevity estimate (prior to 2019) for this species at 26 years, evidence of its extended longevity came as a surprise and was initially met with skepticism. Thorough bomb radiocarbon dating was conducted on their otolith microstructure and confirmed the age estimates generated from thin-sectioned otoliths, making bigmouth buffalo the oldest age-validated freshwater fish in the world. The onset of sexual maturity of bigmouth buffalo likely varies with latitude. In central North Dakota and southern Minnesota, females begin to mature around 10 years old, while males begin maturation around 6 years of age. In Canada, bigmouth buffalo females had not yet reached the onset of sexual maturity by an age of 11 years. Their delayed maturity (in addition to their great longevity and episodic recruitment) is a trait indicative of their slow, marathon-like, life history pace. Bigmouth buffalo have a tendency to accumulate unique pigmentation (orange and black spots) as they age, but this may vary by habitat depending on water quality and food intake. Conservation status in need of change The bigmouth buffalo's conservation status is in urgent need of change. The bigmouth buffalo is negatively affected by dams that restrict their movement and ability to find suitable spawning habitat, they are also prone to winterkill, and they are highly vulnerable to overfishing. The bigmouth buffalo is an endangered fish species in Pennsylvania. Besides this state, the bigmouth buffalo is not currently listed as threatened or endangered in any other region of its native distribution, even though they have had