The white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) is a type of freshwater fish found in the upper Midwest and Northeast regions of North America. It is also present in areas as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. This fish is called a "sucker" because of its thick, bumpy lips, which help it eat organic matter and aufwuchs from the river and stream bottoms.
Other names for the white sucker include bay fish, brook sucker, common sucker, and mullet. It is often mistaken for the longnose sucker (C. catostomus) because the two species look very similar.
Distribution and habitat
The white sucker can live in many different places and adjust to changes in its environment. It is usually found in small streams, rivers, and lakes in the Midwest and on the East Coast of the United States. This fish can survive in water that is muddy or polluted. However, it has trouble having babies in water that is too acidic, which can happen when acid rain falls into lakes and streams.
Description
The white sucker is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark back and sides that can be green, gray, copper, brown, or black, and a light-colored underbelly. It has features common to ancient Cypriniformes fish, including a balanced tail, smooth scales, and dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fin rays. When fully grown, it can grow to be 12 to 20 inches long (30 to 51 centimeters) and weigh between 2 to 6 pounds (0.91 to 2.72 kilograms). The fish has a fleshy mouth at the bottom of its head, which it uses to eat food from the bottom of its habitat. It is often confused with other sucker and redhorse species, but can be identified by its full line of 55 to 85 small scales along its body. The white sucker uses chemosensory abilities to detect and avoid predators and other members of its species during the day and night.
Diet habits
The white sucker is a bottom feeder, which means it lives near the bottom of water and uses its soft lips to suck up sand, mud, and small creatures found there. It eats many different things but prefers tiny animals, plants, and algae. Larger fish, such as walleye, trout, bass, northern pike, catfish, muskellunge, and sauger, often hunt and eat white suckers.
Reproduction
The white sucker typically lays eggs in shallow water or streams during April and May. This process may begin when temperatures change or when water from melting snow flows into the streams. Often, two or more male fish gather near one female. The female then releases up to 10,000 eggs, which are fertilized by the males present.
Importance to humans
The white sucker is a common fish that is not often caught for food, though some people think it is tasty. It is most frequently used as bait for fishing; the young fish are sold as sucker minnows. When humans eat it, the fish is usually processed and sold under the name mullet. The IGFA world record for the white sucker is 6 pounds 8 ounces (2.9 kilograms), caught in the Rainy River near Loman, Minnesota, in 1984.
Fossil record
Fossils of this fish species, C. commersonii, have been found in the United States as far back as the Early Pleistocene, which is about 1.8 million years ago.