The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

and as far west as

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. The fish is commonly known as a "sucker" due to its fleshy, papillose lips that suck up organic matter and '' aufwuchs'' from the bottom of rivers and streams. Other common names for the white sucker include bay fish, brook sucker, common sucker, and mullet. The white sucker is often confused with the

longnose sucker The longnose sucker (''Catostomus catostomus'') is a species of cypriniform freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is native to North America from the northern United States to the top of the continent. It is also found in Russia in ...

(''C. catostomus''), because they look very similar.

Etymology

The specific name, ''commersonii'', is in honor of French naturalist

Philibert Commerson Philibert Commerson (; 18 November 1727 – 14 March 1773), sometimes spelled Commerçon by contemporaries, was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766–1769. ...

Description

The white sucker is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. The fish also has typical features of primitive

Cypriniformes Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches, and relatives. Cypriniformes is an Order within the Superorder Ostariophysi consisting of "Carp-like" Ostariophysins. This order contains 11-12 familie ...

fishes, such as a homocercal tail,

cycloid scale A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as w ...

s, and dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fin rays.Grinnell, Jon; Downs, Floyd. "Vertebrate Zoology Biology 242 Laboratory Instructions". Gustavus Adolphus College. When full grown, it can reach lengths of and weigh . The fish's

suckermouth In fish, a suckermouth is a ventrally-oriented (inferior) mouth adapted for grazing on algae and small organisms that grow on submerged objects. All Loricariidae possess a suckermouth as do the cypriniform algae eaters of the genus '' Gyrinocheilu ...

, with its fleshy lips, is located in an inferior position at the bottom of its head, as the fish obtains its food from bottom surfaces. The white sucker is often mistaken for different species of suckers and

redhorse ''Moxostoma'', the redhorses or jumprocks, is a genus of North American ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. Species * ''Moxostoma albidum'' ( Girard, 1856) (Longlip jumprock) * '' Moxostoma anisurum'' ( Rafinesque, 1820) (Silver redh ...

s, but can be distinguished by the complete lateral line system containing 55-85 small scales.Rook, J.S.E. "''Catostomus commersoni'' / White Sucker". 1999. http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/fish/catostomuscom.html The white sucker is able to use chemosensory to sense and avoid predators and other conspecific species during day and night. Jordbro, Di Rocco, R. T., Imre, I., Johnson, N. S., & Brown, G. E. "White sucker Catostomus commersonii respond to conspecific and sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus alarm cues but not potential predator cues. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 42(4), 849–853. ". https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2016.04.003

Distribution and habitat

The white sucker is highly adaptable to different

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s and changing environmental influences. Generally, the white sucker is found in small streams, rivers, and lakes in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

and East Coast of the United States.Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. "White Sucker" 2012. The white sucker is also relatively tolerant of

turbid Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

and polluted waters. It does, however, have low breeding success in acidified waters, which can be caused by acid rain.

Diet habits

The white sucker is a

bottom feeder A bottom feeder is an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water. Biologists often use the terms '' benthos''—particularly for invertebrates such as shellfish, crabs, crayfish, sea anemones, starfish, snails, brist ...

, meaning that it uses its fleshy lips to suck up bottom sediments and other organisms that may be located there. It will eat almost anything it can, but most commonly small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from ...

, and

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

matter. Larger predatory fish species such as

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-sa ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskel ...

, and

sauger The sauger (''Sander canadensis'') is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye. The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes.Jaeger, Matthew. 2004. Montana's Fi ...

naturally prey on the white sucker.

Reproduction

The white sucker usually spawns in shallow water or streams in April and May; spawning may possibly be initiated by temperature changes and runoff from early snow melt. Two or more males may gather with one female, which releases up to 10,000 eggs that can be fertilized by the gathered males.

Importance to humans

A very common fish, the white sucker is usually not fished for food, though some consider it good to eat. It is most often used as

bait Bait may refer to: General * Bait (luring substance), bait as a luring substance ** Fishing bait, bait used for fishing Film * ''Bait'' (1950 film), a British crime film by Frank Richardson * ''Bait'' (1954 film), an American noir film by Hu ...

; the young are sold as sucker minnows. When it is eaten by humans, it is usually processed and sold under the name of mullet. The

IGFA The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current World Record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers are careful to follow their strin ...

world record for white sucker stands at 6 lb 8 oz (2.94 kg) taken from the Rainy River near

Loman, Minnesota Loman is an unincorporated community in Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located between International Falls and Baudette at the intersection of State Highway 11 (MN 11) and County Road 32 (Black River Road). Loman ...

in 1984.

Fossil record

Fossils of this fish, ''C. commersonii'', in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

occur as early as the Early Pleistocene (1.8 million years ago).

References

External links

* *
Species profile by Earl J.S. RookNova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Fisheries factsheetWorld Register of Marine Species entry
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2942992 Catostomus Freshwater fish of the United States Fish of the Great Lakes Fish described in 1803 Extant Pleistocene first appearances Freshwater fish of North America