''Pantosteus'', the mountain suckers, is a genus of North American freshwater

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 ' ...

. Long treated as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

of ''

Catostomus ''Catostomus'' is a genus of fish belonging to the family Catostomidae, commonly known as suckers. This genus of fish usually lives in freshwater basins. Most members of the genus are native to North America, but '' C. catostomus'' is also found ...

'', phylogenetic evidence has found them to a form a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group that diverged from other members of ''Catostomus'' during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, and they are thus treated better as a distinct genus. They are native to mountainous regions of western North America, from southern Canada to north-central Mexico. They are primarily found in the

Interior West The Mountain states (also known as the Mountain West or the Interior West) form one of the nine geographic divisions of the United States that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau. It is a subregion of the Western Un ...

, where they are known from the

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

,parts of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

, much of the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

, and parts of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

. However, a single isolated species (the Santa Ana sucker) is found west of the Cascades, in the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

. ''Pantosteus'' species tend to be smaller than those in ''Catostomus''. They inhabit cool, fast-flowing streams located in high-elevation environments.

Taxonomy

The following species are placed in this genus: * ''

Pantosteus bondi ''Pantosteus'', the mountain suckers, is a genus of North American freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. Long treated as a subgenus of ''Catostomus'', phylogenetic evidence has found them to a form a Monophyly, monophyletic group ...

'' ( G. R. Smith, J. D. Stewart & N. E. Carpenter, 2013) (Cordilleran sucker)Smith, G.R., Stewart, J.D. & Carpenter, N.E. (2013): Fossil and recent mountain suckers, ''Pantosteus'', and significance of introgression in catostomin fishes of Western United States. ''Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan, 743: 1-59.'' * ''Pantosteus clarkii'' ( Baird & Girard, 1854) (Desert sucker) ** ''P. c. intermedius'' ( Tanner, 1942) (White River desert sucker) ** ''P. c. utahensis'' (Tanner, 1932) (Virgin River desert sucker) ** ''P. c.'' "unnamed" (Meadow Valley Wash desert sucker) * '' Pantosteus discobolus'' (

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 ...

, 1871) (bluehead sucker) * '' Pantosteus jarrovii'' (Cope, 1874) (Zuni bluehead sucker) * '' Pantosteus jordani'' Evermann, 1893 (Plains sucker) * '' Pantosteus lahontan'' Rutter, 1903 (Lahontan sucker) * '' Pantosteus nebuliferus'' (

Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include: Sports * Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach * Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...

, 1881) (Nazas sucker) * '' Pantosteus platyrhynchus'' (Cope, 1874) (Mountain sucker) * ''Pantosteus plebeius'' (Baird & Girard, 1854) (Rio Grande sucker) * ''Pantosteus santaanae'' Snyder, 1908 (Santa Ana sucker) * '' Pantosteus virescens'' Cope, 1875 (Green sucker) '' Catostomus columbianus'' was also previously placed in ''Pantosteus'', and appears to have undergone some hybridization with ''Pantosteus'' in the past. However, treating it as a member of ''Pantosteus'' makes the genus ''Catostomus''

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

, and it thus continues to be treated as a member of ''Catostomus''. The following

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

species are also known: * †'' Pantosteus asitus'' (Smith, Stewart & Carpenter, 2013) -

Early Pliocene Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...

of Nevada, US ( White Narrows Formation) * †'' Pantosteus arenatus'' (Miller & Smith, 1967) -

Late Pliocene Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * Late (The 77s album), ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudo ...

of Idaho, US (

Glenns Ferry Formation The Glenns Ferry Formation is a Pliocene stratigraphic unit in the western United States. Outcrops of the formation in Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument preserve the remains of seven fish species, five of which are extinct. These include the t ...

) * †'' Pantosteus hyomyzon'' (Smith, Stewart & Carpenter, 2013) -

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

of Oregon and Washington, US ( Juntura Formation, Drewsey Formation and

Ellensburg Formation The Ellensburg Formation is a geologic formation in Washington (state). It preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Washington (state) * Paleontology in Washington (state) Pa ...

) * †'' Pantosteus oromyzon'' (Smith, Stewart & Carpenter, 2013) - Early Pliocene of Idaho, US (Glenns Ferry Formation)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q119787828 Catostomidae Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Cypriniformes genera