The quillback, also known as the quillback carpsucker, is a type of freshwater fish of the sucker family widely distributed throughout North America. It is deeper-bodied than most suckers, leading to a carplike appearance. However, the quillback is not a carp. It can be distinguished from carp by the lack of barbels around the mouth. The quillback is long-lived, with age up to 30 years, 44 years, and 52 years documented across different studies.
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 families, although some authorities have designated as many as 23, over 400 genera, and more than 4,250 species, with new species being described every few months or so, and new genera being recognized frequently. They are most diverse in southeastern Asia, and are entirely absent from Australia and South America. At 112 years old, the longest-lived cypriniform fish documented is the bigmouth buffalo.
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 retrieve the line and arrow back, in modern times usually with a reel mounted on the bow. Unlike other popular forms of fishing where baiting and exploiting the fish's instinctual behaviors are important, bowfishing is similar to spearfishing and relies purely on the fisherman's own visual perception and marksmanship, and usually do not involve using other tools such as hand net.
The longnose sucker 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 rivers of eastern Siberia, and thus one of only two species of sucker native to Asia.
The bighead carp is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish native to East Asia, and is one of several Asian carps introduced into North America. It is one of the most intensively exploited fishes in fish farming, with an annual worldwide production of over three million tonnes in 2013, principally from China. Unlike the omnivorous common carp, bighead carp are primarily filter-feeding algae eaters, preferentially consuming zooplankton but also phytoplankton and detritus.
The bigmouth buffalo is a fish native to North America. It is the largest North American species in the Catostomidae or "sucker" family, and is one of the longest-lived and latest-maturing freshwater fishes, capable of living 127 years and reproducing infrequently. Even at a century old they show no age-related declines, but instead improvements relative to younger individuals, making this species a biological marvel. It is commonly called the gourdhead, marblehead, redmouth buffalo, buffalofish, bernard buffalo, roundhead, or brown buffalo. The bigmouth buffalo is not a carp, nor is any other fish in the sucker family. Although they share the same order, each belong to different suborders and are native to separate continents.
The silver carp is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to China and eastern Siberia, from the Amur River drainage in the north to the Xi Jiang River drainage in the south. Although a threatened species in its natural habitat, it has long been cultivated in China. By weight, more silver carp are produced worldwide in aquaculture than any other species of fish except for the grass carp. Silver carp are usually farmed in polyculture with other Asian carp, or sometimes with catla or other fish species.
The black buffalo is a North American species of freshwater fish in the Catostomidae or sucker family. At 56 years old for one specimen's age, it is one of the longest-lived catostomids. Found in the Mississippi Basin and southern Great Lakes. It was first discovered in Canada in the western end of Lake Erie and has been reported from Boston Creek. The Tennessee distribution ranges from rivers and streams in the Cumberland Mountains, a few rivers in middle Tennessee, and in west Tennessee along the Mississippi River. The ecology of the species is quite similar to that of I. bubalus. I. niger has a ventrally positioned mouth, making the species’ diet benthic-oriented. It has a distinct shape that mocks I. bubalus and I. cyprinellus, considering it a hybrid between the two species.
The golden redhorse 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 large rivers, and lakes.
The greater redhorse is a species of freshwater fish found in northeastern North America. It is the largest member of the genus Moxostoma, with a maximum length of 80 cm (31.5 in). The greater redhorse is long lived with a maximum reported age of 27 years.
The silver redhorse is a species of freshwater fish endemic to Canada and the United States. It is the longest-lived redhorse known, with a maximum reported age of 41 years. Sometimes called redhorse or sucker for short, it is in the family Catostomidae with other suckers. The species is distributed from Quebec to Alberta and is also in the Mississippi River, St. Lawrence River, Ohio River, and the Great Lakes basins. The current world record is 14 pounds, 14 ounces, caught by Chris Stephenson on Pickwick Lake in Alabama, April 1995 and certified by National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. This species is of growing interest to rod-and-line anglers. The long-lived and late-maturing silver redhorse is also a sportfish pursued by kill-and-dump bowfishing, a 21st century unregulated sport that produces tons of wanton waste, and thus management and conservation are in need of updating.
Rough fish is a term used by some United States state agencies and anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to larger game fish species that are not commonly eaten, are too rare to be commonly encountered, or are not favorably sought by anglers for sporting purposes. Many of these species are actually very important in the commercial fishing industry, where they make up the bulk of commercial food fish catches in inland freshwater bodies.
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 spawning substrate. Several redhorses are long-lived, much like many other catostomid species. The silver redhorse 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, and are currently subject to unregulated 21st century sport bowfishing which is removing and wantonly wasting several of these species by the ton.
Ictiobus, also known as buffalofish or simply buffalo, is a genus of freshwater fish native to North America, specifically the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. They are the largest and longest-lived of the North American suckers, reaching up to 1.23 m (4.0 ft) in length and more than 125 years of age. At up to 127 years for bigmouth buffalo, they can reach the highest known age for any freshwater teleost, which is a group of more than 12,000 species. Black buffalo and smallmouth buffalo are also long-lived, with ages approaching or exceeding six decades reported. Buffalofish are not carp, nor is any other catostomid; they belong to different scientific families having evolved on separate continents. Buffalofish live in most types of freshwater bodies where panfish are found, such as ponds, creeks, rivers, and lakes. Ictiobus were caught by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The river carpsucker is a freshwater fish found in the inland United States and northern Mexico. This species has a slightly arched back and is somewhat stout and compressed. While the fins are usually opaque, in older fish they may be dark yellow. It is distributed along the Mississippi River basin from Pennsylvania to Montana. The river carpsucker, like most suckers, is a bottom feeder and obtains its nutrients from algae, microcrustaceans, and other various tiny planktonic plants and animals found in silty substrates. Like its congener, the quillback, the river carpsucker is long-lived, with a lifespan of more than 45 years. It begins to reproduce typically in late spring, and the female usually releases more than 100,000 eggs. After releasing and fertilizing their eggs, all parental care is ended.
The smallmouth buffalo is a catostomid fish species native to the major tributaries and surrounding waters of the Mississippi River in the United States, as well as some other water systems where it has been introduced. It is a long-lived, stocky fish like its relatives the bigmouth buffalo and the black buffalo, although the smallmouth buffalo's mouth is located ventrally like other Catostomidae species, while the bigmouth buffalo's mouth is terminal and opens forward, and the smallmouth buffalo's eyes are significantly larger than those of the black buffalo. Despite being members of different scientific families, these three species superficially resemble the common carp, but an easy and notable difference is that all catostomids lack the characteristic barbels of carp.
