Species: Catostomus macrocheilus
Largescale Sucker
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Cypriniformes
Family
Catostomidae
Genus
Catostomus
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
meunier à grandes écailles
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Fishes - Bony Fishes - Suckers
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Actinopterygii - Cypriniformes - Catostomidae - Catostomus - Hybridizes with C. COMMERSONI in a limited area in British Columbia (Scott and Crossman 1973). See Smith (1992) for a study of the phylogeny and biogeography of the Catostomidae.
Ecology and Life History
Habitat Type Description
Freshwater
Migration
false - false - false
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
A bottom feeder. Eats aquatic insect larvae, crustaceans, snails, algae, detritus, etc. Young suckers feed primarily on plankton.
Reproduction Comments
Usually mature by 4th or 5th year of life. Usually spawns in the spring when water temperatures reach 46-48 F. A female may deposit as many as 20,000 eggs; eggs hatch in about 2 weeks (Scott and Crossman 1973).
Ecology Comments
Life span may be up to 11 years. Predators of young suckers include fishes and fish eating birds. In shallow waters adults may be preyed upon by large mammals and birds (e.g., bears and eagles).
Length
61
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-09-19
Global Status Last Changed
1996-09-19
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S3&CA.BC=S5&US.ID=S5&US.MT=S5&US.NV=SNR&US.OR=S4&US.WA=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
G - 200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles) - G - Range includes western North America, mainly west of the Rocky Mountains; Arctic basin from Peace River drainage, British Columbia, to Smokey River drainage, Alberta; Pacific Slope from Nass River, British Columbia, to Snake River drainage (below Shoshone Falls), Idaho and Nevada, and Coquille River, Oregon; an isolated occurrence record exists in the Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories (Page and Burr 1991).
Global Range Code
G
Global Range Description
200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)