Facilitating the protection and restoration of species and ecosystems at risk on BC’s South Coast
Salish Sucker
Catostomus sp. 4
Catostomus
sp. 4
A member of the family Catostomidae (“suckers”), this species, along with Nooksack Dace is the only other Canadian representative of what is known as “Chehalis fauna”, a unique assemblage of fish that survived continental glaciation in an ice-free refuge in Washington State.
Length: Up to 24 cm. Common to members of its genus, this species has a fairly long snout ending in a rounded point. The body shape is elongated and cylindrical, scales are small, the tailfin is moderately forked with rounded tips, and the anal fin is large. The sub-terminal mouth is toothless, with fleshy “lips”. The mouth and lips of suckers are designed to act like a vacuum cleaner to gather food from the stream bottom. The lips are covered with numerous papillae (minute fleshy projections), which act as sensory receptors for detecting food items. At breeding time, both males and females develop a broad rose or wine-coloured band along their sides which is most vivid in the males.
Download Species Fact Sheet in PDF
Status
Global Status:
G1
Provincial Status:
S1
SARA Status:
Threatened
BC List Status:
Red (Candidates for- Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened status)
RESOURCES
For further information see:
A source for authoritative conservation information on thousands of plants and animals and hundreds of ecological communities in BC. From here connect to all provincial and federal recovery plans (including the SARA Registry), COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), Identified Wildlife guidance and conservation requirements for specific species and ecological communities of conservation concern impacted by forestry activities) and links to E-Flora and E-Fauna (the Electronic Atlas of the Plants and Wildlife of British Columbia).
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