''Moxostoma'', the redhorses or jumprocks, is a genus of North American

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

in the family

Catostomidae The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order (biology), order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family (biology), family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclusively native to North America. The only exceptions are ' ...

. Redhorses are variable in size, geographic location, and other ecological traits such as spawning substrate. Several redhorses are long-lived (lifespans greater than 20 years), much like many other catostomid species. The

silver redhorse The silver redhorse (''Moxostoma anisurum'': Moxostoma= mouth to suck; anisurum = unequal tail) is a species of freshwater fish endemic to Canada and the United States. It is the longest-lived redhorse known (a group of 25 extant species), wit ...

is the longest-lived redhorse known by nearly a decade, with ages exceeding 40 years. Redhorses are broadly of conservation concern, as these long-lived species are highly intolerant to environmental pollution,

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

, and are currently subject to unregulated 21st century sport

bowfishing Bowfishing is a fishing technique that uses specialized archery equipment to impale and retrieve fish. A bowfisher will use a bow or crossbow to shoot fish through the water surface with a barbed arrow tethered to a line, and then manually retr ...

which is removing and wantonly wasting several of these species by the ton.

Species

The following 23 species are recognized in this genus: * ''

Moxostoma albidum The longlip jumprock (''Moxostoma albidum'') is a Mexican species of freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order (biology), order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family (biology), famil ...

'' ( Girard, 1856) (Longlip jumprock) * ''

Moxostoma anisurum The silver redhorse (''Moxostoma ''Moxostoma'', the redhorses or jumprocks, is a genus of North American ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. Redhorses are variable in size, geographic location, and other ecological traits such as s ...

'' (

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...

, 1820) (Silver redhorse) * ''

Moxostoma ariommum The bigeye jumprock (''Moxostoma ariommum'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. It is found only in the upper Roanoke River drainage in Virginia and North Carolina, United States The United States of America (USA), ...

'' C. R. Robins & Raney, 1956 (Bigeye jumprock) * ''

Moxostoma austrinum The Mexican redhorse (''Moxostoma austrinum'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Moxostoma''. It can be found in the waters of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains and the Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United Stat ...

'' T. H. Bean, 1880 (Mexican redhorse) * ''

Moxostoma breviceps Smallmouth redhorse (''Moxostoma breviceps'') is a species of ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate specie ...

'' (

Cope A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

, 1870) (Smallmouth redhorse) * ''

Moxostoma carinatum The river redhorse (''Moxostoma carinatum'') is a species of freshwater fish endemic to the eastern half of the United States and southeastern Canada. They can range from 10 to 30 inches in length and can potentially reach a weight of more than 1 ...

'' (Cope, 1870) (River redhorse) * ''

Moxostoma cervinum ''Moxostoma cervinum'' (blacktip jumprock or black jumprock) is a species of ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living ve ...

'' ( ope, 1868) (Blacktip jumprock) * ''Moxostoma collapsum'' (Cope, 1870) (Notchlip redhorse) * ''Moxostoma congestum'' (Spencer Fullerton Baird, S. F. Baird & Girard, 1854) (Gray redhorse) * ''Moxostoma duquesni'' (Charles Alexandre Lesueur, Lesueur, 1817) (Black redhorse) * ''

Moxostoma erythrurum The golden redhorse (''Moxostoma erythrurum'') is a species of freshwater fish endemic to Ontario and Manitoba in Canada and the Midwestern, southern, and eastern United States. It lives in calm, often silty or sandy waters in streams, small to l ...

'' (

, 1818) (Golden redhorse) * ''

Moxostoma hubbsi The copper redhorse (''Moxostoma hubbsi'') is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is found only in Canada. Its extremely small range, which is restricted to a few rivers in the lowlands of southwestern Que ...

'' V. Legendre, 1952 (Copper redhorse) * '' Moxostoma lacerum'' ( D. S. Jordan & Brayton, 1877) (Harelip sucker) * '' Moxostoma lachneri'' C. R. Robins & Raney, 1956 (Greater jumprock) * '' Moxostoma macrolepidotum'' (Lesueur, 1817) (Shorthead redhorse) * '' Moxostoma mascotae'' Regan, 1907 (Mascota jumprock) * '' Moxostoma milleri'' C. R. Robins & Raney, 1957 * '' Moxostoma pappillosum'' (Cope, 1870) (V-lip redhorse) * '' Moxostoma pisolabrum'' Trautman & R. G. Martin, 1951 (Pealip redhorse) * '' Moxostoma poecilurum'' (D. S. Jordan, 1877) (Blacktail redhorse) * '' Moxostoma robustum'' (Cope, 1870) (Robust redhorse) * '' Moxostoma rupiscartes'' D. S. Jordan & O. P. Jenkins, 1889 (Striped jumprock) * '' Moxostoma ugidatli'' Jenkins, Favrot, Freeman, Albanese & Ambruster, 2025 (Sicklefin redhorse) * '' Moxostoma valenciennesi'' D. S. Jordan, 1885 (Greater redhorse) Additionally, three undescribed species are thought to belong to this genus: * '' Moxostoma sp. 1 "Apalachicola"'' Undescribed, (Apalachicola Redhorse) * '' Moxostoma sp. 3 "Carolina"'' Undescribed, (Carolina Redhorse) * '' Moxostoma sp. 4 "Brassy"'' Undescribed, (Brassy Jumprock)

References

*Georgia Biodiversity Portal
Table of Rare Fishes
June 7, 2022 version. *Fishes of North Carolina, Freshwater Fishes of North Carolina, Catostomidae
Freshwater Fishes of North Carolina
2020 version. Catostomidae Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Catostomidae-stub