Sucker

At a glance

Sucker (Catostomus catostomus) is an IUCN Least Concern bony-fish species regulated in 29 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

The strictest bag limit is 1 (Northwest Territories); the most generous is 100 (Missouri).

Confirmed by 611 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Its distinctively elongated snout gives the longnose sucker an immediately recognizable profile.
• One of the most widely distributed suckers, ranging from North America into northeastern Siberia.
• Can live up to 17 years, making it one of the longer-lived sucker species.
• Spawns in spring in shallow, gravel-bottomed streams, often migrating upstream to reach breeding grounds.
• Can reach up to 64 cm in length in larger cold-water lakes and rivers.

Where Sucker are seen

• Alberta155 iNat obs
• British Columbia61 iNat obs
• Ontario61 iNat obs
• Colorado58 iNat obs
• Michigan50 iNat obs
• Montana28 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Sucker

• AlabamaUnited States · official source
• ArkansasUnited States · official source
• British ColumbiaCanada · official source
• CaliforniaUnited States · official source
• ColoradoUnited States · official source
• ConnecticutUnited States · official source

Background

The longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus) is a species of cypriniform freshwater fish in the Catostomidae family. 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 other is the Chinese Myxocyprinus asiaticus).

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Sucker article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other bony fish on CatchRules

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