Name:
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- Moxostoma, from the Greek, "mouth to suck"
- anisurum, from the Greek, "unequal tail"
- Common name from silvery sides and belly
- Other common names include: Bay Mullet, Longtailed Sucker, Redfin
Mullet, Silver Mullet, Silver Sucker, White Nose Redhorse, White Sucker
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Taxonomy:
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- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata, animals with a spinal chord
- Subphylum Vertebrata, animals with a backbone
- Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fishes
- Class Actinopterygii, ray-finned and spiny rayed fishes
- Subclass Neopterygii
- Infraclass Teleostei
- Superorder Ostariophysi
- Order Cypriniformes, minnows and suckers
- Family Catostomidae, suckers
- Genus Moxostoma, the redhorses
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Description:
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- A chunky, coarse-scaled sucker.
- Length l0"-20"
- Weight
- typically ½ to 3½ lbs
- up to 14 lbs
- Coloration
- darker above
- sides pale, silvery
- bright silver below
- tail fin olive or slate-colored with pale silvery sides
- Body
- short dorsal fin of 14/15 soft rays
- air bladder of three chambers
- Head
- head and eyes large
- mouth small
- rear margin of thin lower lip forms acute, V-shaped angle, covered with
numerous small, wart-like bumps (papillae)
- no teeth in the mouth, pharyngeal teeth in the throat.
- Lifespan to14 years.
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Identification:
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- Closely resembles Golden Redhorse (Moxostoma
erythrurum), and often mistaken for each other.
- Distinguished from other redhorses by the presence of 14/15 (occasionally
16) soft rays in a short dorsal fin with straight or slightly curved outer
margin.
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Distribution:
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- Hudson Bay to Alberta; south to Georgia
- Not known from the Lake Superior drainage of the eastern BWCA
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Habitat:
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- Prefers deep water habitat.
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Food:
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- Aquatic insect larvae, crustaceans, small mollusks, and some plant material.
- Bottom feeders.
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History:
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- Minnesota Record: 7 lbs 9 oz, Rainy River (Koochiching County).
- Appears to be less abundant than formerly, though records sketchy.
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Uses:
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Reproduction:
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- Spawns earlier in the year than most redhorses, peaking in April at water
temperatures of 56 º F.
- Fish ascend small tributary streams where they congregate in large schools.
- Preferred spawning habitat is shallow riffles up to 3' deep over gravel
or rubble bottoms.
- Semi-adhesive eggs are scattered at random to hatch unattended after 7-l0
days. A mature, moderate sized female will produce about l5,000 eggs.
- Sexual maturity occurs late in life at age 4 or 5.
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Comments:
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Links:
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Last updated on 6 November 1999
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