Largescale sucker
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image=FMIB 34320 Catostomus macrochilus Grd.jpeg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon=Catostomus macrocheilus
| authority=Girard, 1856
}}
File:Catostomus macrocheilus.jpg
The largescale sucker (Catostomus macrocheilus) is a species of sucker, a type of freshwater fish, found in western North America.{{FishBase | genus=Catostomus | species=macrocheilus | month=May | year=2019}}
Description
It has a rounded snout with a downturned mouth on its underside (as opposed to a mouth at end of the head like most fish). It has large scales and narrow tail base (caudal peduncle).
Juveniles are under {{cvt|4|in|cm}} in length. Adults can reach a length of {{cvt|24|in|cm}} and {{cvt|7|lb|kg}} in parts of their range.{{cite web|url=http://www.idahoafs.org/fishes.php?id=51|title=Fishes of Idaho - Idaho Chapter of the American Fisheries Society|website=Iahoafs.org|accessdate=6 July 2018}} Juveniles are mottled brown or olive green with dark spots and white to yellow belly. Adults are bronze to orange on top with lighter undersides.
Distribution and habitat
The largescale sucker is native to the Pacific Northwest, occurring from British Columbia south to Oregon. It is widespread in the Columbia River system. It occurs in the slower-moving portions of rivers and streams, and in lakes.
Biology
Largescale suckers spawn in the spring in shallow water over sandy areas of streams or the sandy or small gravel shoals of lakes. Females may produce up to 20,000 adhesive eggs. The young feed upon small zooplankton until they become bottom dwellers. Then they feed on benthic aquatic invertebrates, diatoms, and other plant material. They are an important part of the food web and the diet of fish-eating animals (such as osprey, eagles, river otters, and other fish).{{cite web|url=https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/50100/em9091.pdf|title=Field Guide to Common Fish of the Willamette Valley Floodplain|website=Ir.library.oregonstate.edu|accessdate=6 July 2018}}
==Angling and relationship with humans==
Largescale suckers, and rough fish in general, have been used as scapegoats for human impacts on fisheries. Ignorance about suckers is widespread and many anglers in the Pacific Northwest kill them because they mistakenly believe them to have a negative impact on salmon and trout stocks.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Matthew L. |title=A Sucker (Myth) Is Born Every Minute |url=https://blog.nature.org/science/2015/03/02/a-sucker-myth-is-born-every-minute/ |website=blog.nature.org |date=2 March 2015 |publisher=Nature |accessdate=2 May 2019}} The International Game Fish Association all tackle world record stands at {{cvt|7|lb|14|oz|kg}} caught in Grand View, Idaho.{{cite web |title=Sucker, largescale (Catostomus macrocheilus) |url=https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Sucker,%20largescale |website=igfa.org |publisher=International Game Fish Association |access-date=3 March 2025}} However the Idaho state record sits at {{cvt|9|lb|kg}} and a {{cvt|27.7|in|cm}} fish stands as the catch and release record.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=David |title=IDAHO MAN JUST CAUGHT THE NEW LARGESCALE SUCKER STATE RECORD |url=https://www.wideopenspaces.com/idaho-man-just-caught-the-new-largescale-sucker-state-record/ |website=wideopenspaces.com |date=27 December 2017 |publisher=WOS, inc |accessdate=9 April 2019}} The Idaho state record was caught in 2017 from Lake Cascade while ice fishing.{{cite web |title=Lake Cascade produces new state-record largescale sucker |url=https://idfg.idaho.gov/blog/2017/12/lake-cascade-produces-new-state-record-largescale-sucker |website=idfg.idaho.gov |publisher=Idaho Department of Fish and Game |access-date=3 March 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Fish of North America