Taxonomic and distributional status of Notropis volucellus Hrabik, R. 1996. Taxonomic and distributional status of Notropis volucellus and Notropis wickliffi in the Mississippi River drainage: A literature review. National Biological Service, Environmental Management Technical Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin, July 1996. LTRMP 96-S001. 15 pp. ABSTRACT Notropis volucellus was described in 1864 and underwent a confusing taxonomic synonymy with Notropis blennius. By the 1930s, N. volucellus was recognized as a full species with three subspecies. The subspecies N. v. wickliffi was described in 1931 but was not generally recognized as a full species until 1991. Notropis volucellus is widely distributed in the Mississippi River drainage, where it may be found in large creeks and rivers. Notropis wickliffi inhabits large Midwestern rivers from Louisiana to Wisconsin to Pennsylvania. In the Upper Mississippi River, N. volucellus and N. wickliffi occur sympatrically. Biologists with the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) initially identified N. wickliffi as N. volucellus. I began examining LTRMP voucher specimens in 1991 and determined that specimens from Pool 13 to the Mississippi River s confluence with the Ohio River identified as N. volucellus were actually N. wickliffi. Above Pool 13, cursory separation of N. wickliffi from N. volucellus becomes increasingly difficult. Specimens from Pool 8 were mostly N. wickliffi, but several appeared to be intergrades. The purpose of this literature review is to describe the taxonomic and distributional status of N. volucellus and N. wickliffi in the Mississippi River drainage and to present supporting biological information that may help to define the taxonomy and distribution of both species. KEYWORDS biology, distribution, life history, Long Term Resource Monitoring Program, Mississippi River, Notropis volucellus, Notropis wickliffi, systematics, taxonomy