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Carpiodes carpio

(Rafinesque, 1820)

River Carpsucker

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104464
Element CodeAFCJC01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCypriniformes
FamilyCatostomidae
GenusCarpiodes
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
See Smith (1992) for a study of the phylogeny and biogeography of the Catostomidae.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2011-10-25
Change Date1996-09-18
Edition Date2011-10-25
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent200,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 80,000 to >1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
Large range in central North America; many occurrences; large population size; trend relatively stable; no major threats.
Range Extent Comments
Range includes the Mississippi River basin from Pennsylvania to Montana, and south to Louisiana; Gulf drainages from Mississippi River to Rio Grande drainage, Texas and New Mexico; and southward in additional drainages in Mexico (Page and Burr 2011).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This fish is abundant in quiet, silt-bottomed pools and backwaters of rivers and larger creeks having low to moderate gradient (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 2011). It frequently occurs in impoundments. In Oklahoma, it prefers relatively shallow water with little organic matter and large biomass of tubificids (see Sublette et al. 1990). Eggs are scattered over the bottom.

Ecology

Schooling species.

Reproduction

Spawns May to June or early July in north, early April to early August in New Mexico. Eggs hatch in about 1-2 weeks. Males usually sexually mature at age III, females at age III-IV, sometimes at age II in both sexes (Becker 1983).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
WyomingS5Yes
MississippiS5Yes
KansasS5Yes
TexasS5Yes
IllinoisS5Yes
TennesseeS5Yes
New MexicoS4Yes
North CarolinaS1Yes
LouisianaS5Yes
WisconsinS4Yes
West VirginiaS3Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
GeorgiaSNANo
South DakotaS4Yes
ColoradoS3Yes
MissouriSNRYes
IndianaS5Yes
KentuckyS4Yes
PennsylvaniaS4Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
OhioS4Yes
NebraskaS5Yes
MontanaS5Yes
IowaS5Yes
ArkansasS4Yes
AlabamaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (1)
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Candian RiverCibola National Forest7,149
References (41)
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  3. Behmer, D.J. 1965. Spawning periodicity of the river carpsucker, <i>Carpiodes carpio</i>. Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science 72:253-262.
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