Catostomidae

The mouths of these fish are most commonly located on the underside of their head (subterminal), with thick, fleshy lips. Most species are less than 60 cm (2.0 ft) in length, but the largest species (Ictiobus and Myxocyprinus) can surpass 100 cm (3.3 ft). They are distinguished from related fish by having a long pharyngeal bone in the throat, containing a single row of teeth.[4]

Catostomids are most often found in rivers, but can be found in any freshwater environment. Their food ranges from detritus and bottom-dwelling organisms (such as crustaceans and worms), to surface insects, crayfish, small terrestrial vertebrates, and other fish.

Catostomidae have been uncovered and dated to the Middle Eocene in Colorado and Utah. An enormous gap (36.2 million years) in the fossil record occurs from the Late Eocene to Early Pleistocene.[5]

Northern hogsucker, Hypentelium nigricans

They can be taken by many fishing methods, including angling and gigging. Often, species such as Catostomus commersonii and Hypentelium nigricans are preferred for eating. They can be canned, smoked, or fried, but small incisions often must be made in the flesh (termed "scoring") before frying to allow small internal bones to be palatable.[6] Suckers were an important source of food for Indigenous Americans across the continent. Many fishing methods were employed with the most elaborate being stone fish traps constructed on spawning rivers, remnants of these traps can be seen today in Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park where the Achomawi people trapped Sacramento suckers. In the west these relationships became even more important after the decline in salmon runs due to damming and habitat destruction, some groups of native people relied on seasonal sucker runs for a significant amount of their food until the 1950s.[7]

In China there is a significant aquaculture industry dedicated to raising Myxocyprinus asiaticus for food.[8] Historically they were an important component of wild fisheries on the Yangtze, but the wild populations are under pressure from pollution, habitat destruction and hydroelectric dam projects.[9]

Some Catostomidae, especially those of Ictiobus and Moxostoma, are the subject of major recreational fisheries while most are the subject of at least limited recreational fisheries. Throughout much of their range species are considered to be rough fish. Suckers have historically been scapegoated for human environmental destruction and their impacts on popular fish species such as Pacific salmon and smallmouth bass. This has led to their widespread and unnecessary destruction at the hands of ignorant anglers.[10]

Smallfin redhorse, Moxostoma robustum

Smallmouth buffalo, Ictiobus bubalus

Amyzon aggregatum fossil specimen

• Subfamily Catostominae
  • Tribe Catostomini
    • Genus Catostomus
    • Genus Chasmistes
    • Genus Deltistes
    • Genus Xyrauchen
  • Tribe Erimyzoninae
    • Genus Erimyzon
    • Genus Minytrema
  • Tribe Thoburniinae
    • Genus Hypentelium
    • Genus Thoburnia
  • Tribe Moxostomatini
    • Genus Moxostoma
• Subfamily Cycleptinae
  • Genus Cycleptus
• Subfamily Ictiobinae
  • Genus †Amyzon
  • Genus Carpiodes
  • Genus Ictiobus
• Subfamily Myxocyprininae
  • Genus Myxocyprinus
• other extinct genera
  • Genus †Jianghanichthys
  • Genus †Plesiomyxocyprinus
  • Genus †Vasnetzovia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Catostomidae.

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Catostomidae" in FishBase. August 2011 version.
• Bruner, John Clay (1991). "Comments on the genus Amyzon (family Catostomidae)". Journal of Paleontology. 65 (4): 678–686. doi:10.1017/s0022336000030766. JSTOR 1305679. S2CID 127768517.