The black buffalo (Ictiobus niger) is a North American species of freshwater fish in the Catostomidae or sucker family.

[4] I. niger is found in large and small rivers in eastern North America from the Mississippi Basin to Canada.

[5] Among others, it is native to Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota; more southern states include eastern Texas and Oklahoma.

Due to the ventrally positioned mouth, the diet is benthic-oriented, with the Asiatic clam being the principal food.

A specimen caught in Shelby County, Tennessee, on April 1, 1980, was accepted as valid and weighed 80 lb (36 kg).

Currently recognized species are readily diagnosed by morphological characters, and the group is known from fossils dating back to the Miocene.

However, I. niger is listed as of special concern in Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

[14] The IGFA all tackle world record for the species stands at 63lbs 6oz caught from the Mississippi River in Iowa in 1999.

[15] To ensure the long life and thriving reproduction of I. niger, protection and restoration of larger river habitat is needed.