Phenacobius

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Phenacobius
Phenacobius mirabilis.jpg
Suckermouth minnow ( Phenacobius mirabilis )
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Leuciscinae
Genus: Phenacobius
Cope, 1867
Type species
Phenacobius teretulus
Cope, 1867
Synonyms

SarcidiumCope, 1871

Phenacobius, the suckermouth minnows , is a genus of cyprinid fishes endemic to the United States. Historically the suckermouth minnow was not found as far eastward as Ohio, now they seem to be a stable species living throughout the Midwest and parts of southern states such as Texas, New Mexico, and Alabama. Many forests and prairies were cleared out to make farmland, this caused for drainage streams and rivers to take form, moving the minnows eastward. Originally the suckermouth minnows probably never crossed the Mississippi River prior to the developed farm land. [1] They have a lifespan of roughly 3–5 years, but is hard to measure due to predation, survival rate of about 50 percent. There are currently five described species. [2] Etymologically, "phenacobius" means "deceptive life", possibly because these species eat insects despite an herbivorous appearance. [3]

Contents

Species

Description

Suckermouth minnows have a mouth that ends right below the tip of their snout (sub-terminal mouth), appearing like a small sucker and giving them the name suckermouth minnow. These minnows have five fins used for swimming, the dorsal fin which is located on the top of the fish, the anal fin located on the bottom of the fish towards the back by the tail, right in front of the anal fin is the pelvic fin, the pectoral fin is located on both sides of the fish, and finally the caudal fin or also known the tail. Suckermouth minnows have a long narrow black line that stretches down the side of the minnow ending at a dark spot near the base of the tail. Right above this black line is a narrow gold line running the same length as the black line and ending at the base of the tail, near the black spot. This fish uses countershading, on top of the minnow they are shaded a darker gray and on their belly they are shaded light cream to white. Around the gold and black lines on the sides of the minnow they are shaded a silvery or light brown. [4]

Length and weight

Like any typical member of the family Cyprinidae, they are usually 2-4 inches long and can reach 5 inches in length.

Reproduction

Suckermouth minnows spawn in groups in late spring or early summer. Once the female lays her 200 to 500 eggs there seems to be no parental care. The water temperature during spawning periods is between 14 and 25 degrees Celsius. The mating system that these minnows use is polygynandrous (promiscuous), they mate with many females and males to reassure reproductive success. There are a few that have been said to pair mate but male testes are said to be larger in group spawning, suggesting group spawning or polygynandrous is the main mating system. Sexual size dimorphism varies among these two mating systems. Since most of the female suckermouths mate with many males and are iteroparous, she lays small batches of eggs throughout her spawning period, probably to allow greater survivorship among developing embryos. [5]

Food habitat

Suckermouth minnows are primarily carnivores and herbivores eating eggs, fish (piscivore), insects and algae. [6]

Fishing

Due to the suckermouth minnows being prey to green sunfish, yellow perch, and brown trout, they are commonly used for bait by fishermen.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnow</span> Common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish

Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluegill</span> Species of fish

The bluegill, sometimes referred to as "bream," "brim," "sunny," or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands east of the Rocky Mountains. It is the type species of the genus Lepomis, from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock bass</span> Species of freshwater fish

The rock bass, also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red-eyed fish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes and can be distinguished from other similar species by the six spines in the anal fin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake chub</span> Species of fish

The lake chub is a freshwater cyprinid fish found in Canada and in parts of the United States. Of all North American minnows, it is the one with the northernmost distribution. Its genus, Couesius is considered monotypic today. The genus was named after Elliott Coues, who collected the holotype specimen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longnose dace</span> Species of fish

The longnose dace is a freshwater minnow native to North America. Rhinicthys means snout fish and cataractae means of the cataract. Longnose dace are small, typically less than 100 mm and characterized by their fleshy snout that protrudes past the mouth. They are well adapted for living on the bottom of fast-flowing streams among stones. Longnose dace eat algae and aquatic insects and are important forage minnows for larger predatory fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand shiner</span> Species of fish

The sand shiner is a widespread North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. Sand shiners live in open clear water streams with sandy bottoms where they feed in schools on aquatic and terrestrial insects, bottom ooze and diatoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hornyhead chub</span> Species of fish

The hornyhead chub is a small species of minnow in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It mainly inhabits small rivers and streams of the northern central USA, up into Canada. The adults inhabit faster, rocky pools of rivers.

<i>Semotilus atromaculatus</i> Species of fish

Semotilus atromaculatus, known as the creek chub or the common creek chub, is a small minnow, a freshwater fish found in the eastern US and Canada. Differing in size and color depending on origin of development, the creek chub can usually be defined by a dark brown body with a black lateral line spanning horizontally across the body. It lives primarily within streams and rivers. Creek chubs attain lengths of 2-6 inches with larger specimens of up to 12 inches possible. The genus name Semotilus derives from the Greek word sema, and atromaculatus comes from the Latin word "black spots".

<i>Cyprinella spiloptera</i> Species of fish

The spotfin shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is a small sized freshwater fish found abundantly in many watercourses of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pugnose shiner</span> Species of fish

The pugnose shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis. It is in the family Cyprinidae which consists of freshwater carps and minnows. Cyprinidae is the largest fish family which consists of about 369 genera and 3,018 species. Its distribution has been decreasing due to the removal of aquatic plants in order to create swimming beaches and boating access in freshwater lakes and is now mostly found in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackchin shiner</span> Species of fish

The blackchin shiner is an abundant North American species of freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae. Described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1865, it is not a well-known species. It is a close relative of the blacknose shiner. Chiefly occurring now in the Great Lakes and occasionally in upper Mississippi River drainages, the blackchin once ranged commonly as far south as Illinois and Ohio. This fish resides over sandy bottoms in cool waters that provide a lot of cover for the small minnow. Omnivorous, it eats worms and small arthropods as well as plant material. Blackchin shiners are unique because of their anatomical features, such as the black coloring, the incomplete lateral line, and a distinctive dental arrangement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speckled chub</span> Species of fish

The speckled chub is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes, which also includes carps, suckers, and loaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacktail shiner</span> Species of fish

The blacktail shiner is a small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to the United States.

The Mississippi silvery minnow is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is one of the 324 fish species found in Tennessee. Relative to other minnows, the Mississippi Silvery Minnow is a large minnow. These minnows require a body of water with little to no current. The most documentation of these minnows is from the Little and Great Miami river along with the Ohio river and tributes off these rivers. In terms of conservation, the population in Ohio is at an all-time low, but overall there is little conservation concern about this specific minnow. In general there has been little research done on the Mississippi silvery minnow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pugnose minnow</span> Species of fish

The pugnose minnow is a species of cyprinid fish found in the eastern North America. There are two recognized subspecies with the subspecies from Florida recognized as race peninsularis.

The fatlips minnow is a species of suckermouth minnow that was first described in the upper Tennessee River system. No fewer than 20 specimens were used for description, and the epithet crassilabrum was assigned to the species, separating it from Phenacobius catostomus, with which it had previously been identified. The first holotype specimen collected in 1947 was an adult female 8 millimetres (0.31 in) in length from the River.

<i>Phenacobius mirabilis</i> Species of fish

Phenacobius mirabilis, or the suckermouth minnow, is a North American cyprinid fish, where it occurs in the Mississippi River basin from Ohio and West Virginia to Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, and from southeastern Minnesota to northern Alabama and southern Oklahoma. It also occurs in the western Lake Erie drainage in Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullhead minnow</span> Species of fish

The bullhead minnow is a species of freshwater demersal fish, native to the Mississippi River system in the United States, to tributaries of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and to northern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluntnose minnow</span> Species of fish

The bluntnose minnow is a species of temperate freshwater fish belonging to the genus Pimephales of the cyprinid family. Its natural geographic range extends from the Great Lakes south along the Mississippi River basin to Louisiana, and east across the Midwestern United States to New York State. The bluntnose is very ubiquitous, and may be the most common freshwater fish in the Eastern U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim minnow</span> Species of fish

The slim minnow is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows which is endemic to the United States, in Ozarks of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

References

  1. "Ohio.gov/Search." Suckermouth Minnow. Web. 05 May 2016
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). Species of Phenacobius in FishBase . August 2011 version.
  3. Etnier, David and Starnes, Wayne. The Fishes of Tennessee , p. 239 (U. Tenn. Press 1993).
  4. "Ohio.gov/Search." Suckermouth Minnow. Web. 05 May 2016
  5. "Phenacobius Mirabilis (Suckermouth Minnow)." Animal Diversity Web. Web. 05 May 2016
  6. "Phenacobius Mirabilis (Suckermouth Minnow)." Animal Diversity Web. Web. 05 May 2016