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Home/Species/ Owens Sucker

Catostomus fumeiventris

Miller, 1973

Owens Sucker

G3Vulnerable (G3G4) Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Medium - lowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102738
Element CodeAFCJC02090
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCypriniformes
FamilyCatostomidae
GenusCatostomus
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
This species was fiirst diagnosed as a population of C. arenaris, which was subsequently merged with C. tahoensis, its closest relative. It was described as a distinct species by Miller (1973). The introduced population in the Santa Clara River hybridizes with C. (Pantosteus) santaanae (Lee et al. 1980, Moyle 2002).

See Smith (1992) for a study of the phylogeny and biogeography of the Catostomidae.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2013-09-02
Change Date2013-09-02
Edition Date2013-09-02
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactMedium - low
Range Extent1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank Reasons
Small range in eastern California; abundant, widespread in native range; established introduced populations; likely relatively stable or slowly declining; most of population resides in reservoirs dominated by introduced game fishes, so periodic monitoring is needed.
Range Extent Comments
Native range includes the Owens River watershed in eastern California, where the species is most abundant in Crowley Reservoir (Mono County; reservoir formed by dam on Owens River) and widely distributed in the Owens River, Bishop Creek, and other streams in the Owens Valley (Moyle 2002). Range also includes Convict Lake (Mono County) and Lake Sabrina (Inyo County) (Moyle 2002). In the 1930s a population became established in the Santa Clara River in Los Angeles County via the Owens Aqueduct; apparently present in lower Sespe Creek, outflow of Fillmore Trout Hatchery, and Piru Creek and Reservoir (Swift et al. 1993, Moyle 2002). Another introduced population occurs in June Lake in the Mono Lake Basin (Moyle 2002).
Occurrences Comments
Occurrences have not been precisely circumscribed using standardized criteria, but this species appears to be represented by several distinct occurrences (subpopulations). It occurs in four USGS 8-digit Hydrological Units: Crowley Lake Watershed, Mono Lake Watershed, Owens Lake Watershed, Santa Clara Watershed (http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/species/?uid=60&ds=241).
Threat Impact Comments
This species is ecologically flexible and has adapted to and thrives in reservoir habitat. However, a large part of the population depends on reservoirs dominated by introduced game fishes; this could pose a problem in the future.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat includes silty to rocky pools and runs of creeks (Page and Burr 2011). In the lower Owens River and tributaries, this sucker is most abundant in sections with long runs and few riffles, over substrates of mostly fine material (some gravel and rubble) (Deinstadt et al. 1986). Adults occur in cool permanent streams with deep (1+ meters) pools and also do well in lakes and reservoirs, such as Convict Lake and Crowley Reservoir, where they seem to occur on the bottom at all depths (Moyle 2002). Larvae are abundant in weedy edges and backwaters of streams. Spawning occurs in gravelly riffles in tributary streams; lacustrine populations spawn in springs and gravel patches along lake shores, as well as in tributary streams (e.g., Crowley Reservoir) (Moyle 2002)..

Reproduction

Spawning occurs from early May-early July (water temperatures usually 7-13 C) in tributary streams of Owens River and Crowley Lake (Moyle 2002).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases———
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesPervasive (71-100%)Moderate - slightModerate - low

—

Roadless Areas (3)
California (3)
AreaForestAcres
Glass MountainInyo National Forest52,867
North LakeInyo National Forest2,406
Table Mtn.Inyo National Forest4,215
References (16)
  1. Deinstadt, J. M., G. F. Sibbald, J. D. Knarr, and D. M. Wang. 1986. Survey of fish populations in streams of the Owens River drainage: 1985. California Department of Fish and Game Inland Fisheries Administrative Report 86-3. 71 pp.
  2. Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
  3. Master, L. L. and A. L. Stock. 1998. Synoptic national assessment of comparative risks to biological diversity and landscape types: species distributions. Summary Report submitted to Environmental Protection Agency. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA. 36 pp.
  4. Miller, R. R. 1973. Two new fishes, <i>Gila bicolor snyderi</i> and <i>Catostomus fumeiventris</i>, from the Owens River Basin, California. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Occasional Papers No. 667:1-19.
  5. Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
  6. Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. Revised and expanded. University of California Press, Berkeley. xv + 502 pp.
  7. Moyle, P. B., J. E. Williams, and E. D. Wikramanayake. 1989. Fish species of special concern of California. Final report submitted to California Dept. of Fish and Game, Inland Fisheries Division, Rancho Cordova. 222 pp.
  8. Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
  9. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
  10. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
  11. Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
  12. Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
  13. Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
  14. Smith, G. R. 1992. Phylogeny and biogeography of the Catostomidae, freshwater fishes of North America and Asia. Pages 778-826 in R.L. Mayden, editor. Systematics, historical ecology, and North American freshwater fishes. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. xxvi + 969 pp.
  15. State Natural Heritage Data Centers. 1996b. Aggregated element occurrence data from all U.S. state natural heritage programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia: Export of freshwater fish and mussel records west of the Mississippi River in 1997. Science Division, The Nature Conservancy.
  16. Swift, C. C., T. R. Haglund, M. Ruiz, and R. N. Fisher. 1993. The status and distribution of the freshwater fishes of southern California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Science 92(3):101-167.