| Harelip sucker | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Catostomidae |
| Genus: | Moxostoma |
| Species: | †M. lacerum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Moxostoma lacerum (D. S. Jordan & Brayton, 1877) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The harelip sucker (Moxostoma lacerum) was a species of ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. It was found only in the United States. It is considered extinct as it has not been seen alive since 1893. [1]
Two mouth characteristics separate the harelip sucker from all other catostomids: a nonprotractile upper lip and a lower lip that is divided into two distinct lobes. The head is short, accounting for only 20 to 22 percent of the standard length. The dorsal fin has 11 or 12 soft rays, and its free margin is slightly concave. The lateral line is complete and contains 42 to 46 scales. Body colors of freshly caught specimens are described by David Starr Jordan and Alembert Winthrop Brayton (1877) and Jordan (1882). The back is olive to brownish, and the venter and sides are silver or white. The lower fins are slightly orange, while the remaining fins are cream to dusky. The dorsal fin is dusky and edged in black. Although morphologically distinct from one another, this species and the blacktail redhorse in the Mobile basin have similar body colors. [2]
The harelip sucker was first collected in 1859 and described in 1877. It spread from the south-east United States to the middle and lower Ohio basin, the White drainage of the Ozarks and the Maumee system of Lake Erie. This fish holds the dubious distinction of being the fish species lost from the largest number of American states—eight. [3] The last specimen was collected in 1893. By 1970, the species was believed to be extinct. The only known collection in Alabama came from Cypress Creek, Lauderdale County, in 1889. On the slight chance of collecting this species the Alabama Department of Conservation and natural resources repeatedly sampled the lower reaches of Cypress Creek in 1992 and 1993. Although they examined a total of 30 species, including six suckers, their efforts were unsuccessful. The last researcher that has reported receiving a specimen claims he found retrieved it from the Elk River in 1882, probably from Tennessee. [4] It is believed that these fish became extinct when their habitats were modified by siltation. From anatomical studies we see that these fish used sight to feed. They resided in very clear streams. It is believed that their demise began with the deforestation and land cultivation of the early nineteenth century.
Harelip sucker populations came from clear, gravel- or rock-bottomed streams with moderate to swift currents (Jenkins and Burkhead, 1993). [4] The unusual modification of the lips of the harelip sucker suggests that it had a very specialized diet. From the stomachs of preserved specimens scientists have found snails, limpets, fingernail clams, and crustaceans. [2]
Because of the early extinction of the harelip sucker there are no detailed life history studies, but there is at least some biological information that was taken from the approximately 30 preserved specimens. Very little information exists on its precise habitat and life history, though Klippart (1878) relates that these fish were called May suckers because they spawned in May. [4] The only other thing known about the life history of this fish is that adult harelip sucker reached 18 inches in length and weighed several pounds. Despite the wide range this fish once had it became the first recently extinct fish with the last specimen being retrieved in 1893. [2]
The species' extinction is believed to have been caused by human encroachment. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there were no regulations on deforestation or cultivation, and this caused the habitat of the harelip sucker to become very silty. This impeded their feeding because they fed by sight, but it also killed the mollusks and crustaceans which were the harelip sucker's primary prey, leading to starvation. [5]
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.
The Santa Ana sucker is a freshwater ray-finned fish, endemic to California. It is closely related to the mountain sucker and has dark grey upper parts and silvery underparts. It grows to a maximum length of 25 cm (10 in), but most adults are much smaller than this. It feeds on algae, diatoms and detritus on the floor of shallow streams with sand, gravel or cobble bottoms. It is found in only a few streams in southern California, and many of these in the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area have been restricted to concrete channels. Because of its small area of occupancy and vulnerability, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated this fish as "endangered".
The black redhorse is a species of freshwater fish endemic to Ontario and the eastern half of the United States, where it lives in streams and small to medium rivers.
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 river redhorse 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 10 pounds after maturity. It is typically found in clear, large creeks and rivers, though it is sometimes also found in lakes. They are sometimes speared or caught with hook and line using crayfish or worms as bait.
The silver redhorse is a species of freshwater fish endemic to Canada and the United States. 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.
The Utah sucker is a species of freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae found in the upper Snake River and the Lake Bonneville areas of western North America where it lives in a wide range of habitats. It is a large sucker growing up to 25 in (64 cm) long. It is generally blackish above, vaguely streaked and blotched, with a white belly. A narrow rosy lateral band extends backwards from the head. The mouth has thick lips and is on the underside of the head. Some populations are in decline because of anthropogenic factors but overall this fish is not threatened.
The Yaqui sucker is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. It is found the Aridoamerica region of northern Mexico and south-western United States. Catostomus bernardini or Yaqui sucker belongs to the family Catostomidae. The Yaqui sucker is related to the Sonora sucker and could possibly be a subspecies of the Gila sucker.
Moxostoma, the redhorses or jumprocks, is a genus of North American ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae.
The Chinese high-fin banded shark is a popular freshwater aquarium fish that belongs to the family Catostomidae. It grows to about 1.35 m long and is unsuitable for most home aquariums.
The small-eyed whiting, Sillago microps, is a poorly known species of coastal marine fish of the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. The species is known from only two specimens; the holotype collected by Roland McKay in 1985 from a Taipei market, both specimens of which were taken from the waters of Taiwan. Apart from a relatively small eye size, the species is hard to distinguish from other common species of sillaginid taken in the area, and may be a minor part of local fisheries.
Synodontis ilebrevis is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Zambia, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Jeremy John Wright and Lawrence M. Page in 2006, from specimens collected from Lake Tanganyika at Cape Chaitika, Zambia. The species name comes from the Latin word "ile", meaning intestine, and the Latin word "bevis", meaning short, and refers to the relatively short gut of this species.
The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclusively native to North America. The only exceptions are Catostomus catostomus, found in both North America and Russia, and Myxocyprinus asiaticus found only in China. In the Ozarks they are a common food fish and a festival is held each year to celebrate them. Ictiobus cyprinellus can reach an age up to 112 years, making it the oldest known freshwater teleost.
The blacktail redhorse is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Moxostoma. The blacktail redhorse occupies North America, being located throughout Mississippi River tributaries on the former Mississippi Embayment, ranging from Southern Kentucky to Galveston Bay in Texas.
Lacerum or lacer from Latin may refer to:
The desert sucker or Gila Mountain sucker, is a freshwater species of ray-finned fish in the sucker family, endemic to the Great Basin and the Colorado River Basin in the United States. It inhabits rapids and fast-flowing streams with gravelly bottoms. It is a bi-colored fish with the upper parts olive brown to dark green, and the underparts silvery-tan or yellowish. The head is cylindrical, tapering to a thick-lipped mouth on the underside. This fish can grow to 31 in (79 cm) in Arizona but is generally only about half this size elsewhere. There are three subspecies, found in different river basins, and some authorities allot this species its own genus Pantosteus.
The white sucker is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. 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.
The Roanoke hogsucker is a freshwater ray-finned fish found in the upper and middle Roanoke River basin in North Carolina and Virginia. It is very similar to and lives in the same area as the northern hogsucker. They are in the sucker family, Catostomidae. Many anglers enjoy catching them due to their ability to put up a good fight. They are not considered a game fish and are considered significantly rare due to their limited distribution.
The Rio Grande sucker is a North American freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It has a typical bottom-feeding phenotype and fills lower trophic levels alongside Rio Grande cutthroat trout and Rio Grande chub species. It is smaller sized in comparison to its other family members, with females being the larger between sexes. Coloration tends to benefit the species due to counter-shading patterns. It is endemic to the Rio Grande basin and was once common throughout. The species has maintained a population in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Northern Mexico, but has faced challenges from the pressure of non-native species, habitat loss, degradation, and a variety of other aquatic ecosystem changes. There is current pressure from environmental organizations to federally list the species as threatened or endangered.
