Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia. They are not usually fished recreationally; they are not highly prized in North America for their flesh although they are a fairly popular target with spear fisherman.

Description and biology

Their mouth is located on the underside of the head (subterminal), with thick, fleshy lips. Most species are less than 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) in length but the largest species can reach 100 centimetres (3.3 ft). They are distinguished from related fish by having a long pharyngeal bone in the throat, containing a single row of teeth.^[1]

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 and small fishes.

Fossil record

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^[2]

As food

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, however often small incisions must be made in the flesh (termed "scoring") before frying to allow small internal bones to be palatable.^[3]

Genera

Family Catostomidae

• Subfamily Catostominae
  • Tribe Catostomini
    • Genus Catostomus
      

      

      White Sucker, Catostomus commersonii.
    • Genus Chasmistes
    • Genus Deltistes
      

      

      Deltistes owyhee fossil skull
    • Genus Xyrauchen
  • Tribe Erimyzoninae
    • Genus Erimyzon
    • Genus Minytrema
  • Tribe Thoburniinae
    • Genus Hypentelium
    • Genus Thoburnia
  • Tribe Moxostomatini
    • Genus Moxostoma
      

      

      Smallfin redhorse, Moxostoma robustum
• Subfamily Cycleptinae
  • Genus Cycleptus
• Subfamily Ictiobinae
  • Genus †Amyzon
    

    

    Amyzon aggregatum fossil specimen
  • Genus Carpiodes
  • Genus Ictiobus
• Subfamily Myxocyprininae
  • Genus Myxocyprinus
• other extinct genera
  • Genus †Jianghanichthys
  • Genus †Plesiomyxocyprinus
  • Genus †Vasnetzovia

References

• 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 654:678-686

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