Utah sucker
Encyclopedia
The Utah Sucker, Catostomus ardens, is a sucker of the family
Catostomidae
found in the upper Snake River
and the Lake Bonneville
areas of western North America
.
This is a large fish that can grow up to 25.5" (65cm) in length. Relatively elongate for a sucker, the back
area between the head and dorsal fin
is somewhat elevated. The mouth is entirely under the snout, with thick lips, of which the upper lip has eight rows of coarse papillae, the second and third rows from the inside being significantly larger. Color is generally blackish above, with a faint pattern of blotches or spots, a narrow rosy band on the anterior part of each side, while the underside is white. The long anal fin is placed well back, the tip reaching as far back as the base of the caudal fin. The anal fin has 7 rays, while the dorsal has 13 rays. Recent genetic studies have revealed deep, but morphologically cryptic, population subdivision (~4.5% sequence divergence) between drainages of the ancient Snake River and the Bonneville Basin.
It lives in a variety of habitats in its range, being found in lakes, rivers, and streams, in warm or cold water, and over substrates of silt, sand, gravel, or rocks, preferably in the vicinity of vegetation. Some populations are in decline due to anthropogenic factors, including: habitat destruction, water-flow diversion, migration barriers, chemical pollutants, and competition with exotic species.
In 1881, David Starr Jordan
and Charles Henry Gilbert
observed that this sucker "occurs in Utah Lake
in numbers which are simply enormous"; the population seems to have boomed and crashed several times since then.
Taxonomic nomenclature for this species is disputable, with Catostomus ardens in Utah Lake being confused with the June sucker
, Chasmistes liorus, and the name Catostomus fecundus being used for a time.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Catostomidae
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
found in the upper Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
and the Lake Bonneville
Lake Bonneville
Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of North America's Great Basin region. Most of the territory it covered was in present-day Utah, though parts of the lake extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada. Formed about 32,000 years ago, it existed until about 14,500 years...
areas of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
This is a large fish that can grow up to 25.5" (65cm) in length. Relatively elongate for a sucker, the back
Dorsum
Dorsum is a Latin word. In science, it could mean:* Dorsum , the posterior side of an animal* Dorsum , a term used in astrogeology for a ridge* Theta Capricorni, a star on the back of the Goat...
area between the head and dorsal fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
is somewhat elevated. The mouth is entirely under the snout, with thick lips, of which the upper lip has eight rows of coarse papillae, the second and third rows from the inside being significantly larger. Color is generally blackish above, with a faint pattern of blotches or spots, a narrow rosy band on the anterior part of each side, while the underside is white. The long anal fin is placed well back, the tip reaching as far back as the base of the caudal fin. The anal fin has 7 rays, while the dorsal has 13 rays. Recent genetic studies have revealed deep, but morphologically cryptic, population subdivision (~4.5% sequence divergence) between drainages of the ancient Snake River and the Bonneville Basin.
It lives in a variety of habitats in its range, being found in lakes, rivers, and streams, in warm or cold water, and over substrates of silt, sand, gravel, or rocks, preferably in the vicinity of vegetation. Some populations are in decline due to anthropogenic factors, including: habitat destruction, water-flow diversion, migration barriers, chemical pollutants, and competition with exotic species.
In 1881, David Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
and Charles Henry Gilbert
Charles Henry Gilbert
Charles Henry Gilbert was a pioneer ichthyologist and fishery biologist of particular significance to natural history of the western United States. He collected and studied fishes from Central America north to Alaska and described many new species...
observed that this sucker "occurs in Utah Lake
Utah Lake
Utah Lake is a freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Utah. On the western side of Utah Valley, the lake is overlooked by Mount Timpanogos and Mount Nebo. The lake's only river outlet, the Jordan River, is a tributary of the Great Salt Lake and is highly regulated with pumps. Evaporation accounts...
in numbers which are simply enormous"; the population seems to have boomed and crashed several times since then.
Taxonomic nomenclature for this species is disputable, with Catostomus ardens in Utah Lake being confused with the June sucker
June sucker
The June sucker, Chasmistes liorus, is an endangered species of fish endemic to Utah Lake and the Provo River, where it is now under protection. It is a member of the sucker family Catostomidae, and occurs in sympatry with the benthic Utah sucker Catostomus ardens.Unlike most other suckers, the...
, Chasmistes liorus, and the name Catostomus fecundus being used for a time.