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Home/Species/ Tahoe Sucker

Catostomus tahoensis

Gill and Jordan, 1878

Tahoe Sucker

G4Apparently Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101315
Element CodeAFCJC02210
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
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
Buth et al. (1992) found that Chasmistes cujus and Catostomus tahoensis were diagnostically different for 20 genetic characters; they found no genetic evidence of hybridization in a sample suspected, on the basis of morphology, to be of hybrid origin.

Hybridizes with C. platyrhynchus, the mountain sucker (Lee et al. 1980). See Smith (1992) for a study of the phylogeny and biogeography of the Catostomidae.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-07-18
Change Date2023-07-18
Edition Date2023-07-18
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G. (2011); rev. R. L. Gundy (2023)
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank Reasons
This species is somewhat broadly distributed, considered common, and is not subject to any major threats.
Range Extent Comments
The Tahoe sucker is native to the Lahontan Basin in southeastern Oregon, Nevada, and northeastern California, USA (Page and Burr 2011). Based on specimen records from Global Biodiversity Information Facility and observations from iNaturalist, range extent is estimated to be approximately 168,000 km² (GBIF 2023, GeoCat2023, iNaturalist 2023). It has also been introduced in the upper Sacramento River system, California, but this non-native range was not considered for this range extent estimate (Page and Burr 2011).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by dozens of occurrences (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023).
Threat Impact Comments
There are no major threats to this species.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat is primarily large lakes and reservoirs but also includes pools along lower reaches of streams (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 2011). In Lake Tahoe, adults usually are at moderate depths (move into shallower areas at night), whereas young are found in shallow water or in tributary streams. In Pyramid Lake, these suckers occur in inshore waters in summer, offshore in winter. In lakes, spawning occurs over rock and gravel substrates, in water 5-18 meters deep. In streams, spawning occurs in gravel riffles.

Ecology

All age classes school to some extent (Sigler and Sigler 1987).

Reproduction

Spawns mainly April-early summer. Sexually mature at 4-5 years in Lake Tahoe, 2-3 years in Pyramid Lake. Lifespan 4-5 years in Pyramid Lake; grows slower and lives longer in Lake Tahoe.
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
NevadaS5Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
OregonS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (2)
California (1)
AreaForestAcres
Raymond PeakEldorado National Forest2,518
Nevada (1)
AreaForestAcres
Arc Dome - Blank Mtn.Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest3,662
References (20)
  1. Brown, Larry (U.S. Geological Survey, WRD). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, TNC. June 2000.
  2. Buth, D. G., T. R. Haglund, and W. L. Minckley. 1992. Duplicate gene expression and allozyme divergence diagnostic for <i>Catostomus tahoensis</i> and the endangered <i>Chasmistes cujus</i> in Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Copeia 1992:935-941.
  3. Decker, L. M. 1989. Coexistence of two species of sucker, <i>Catostomus</i>, in Sagehen Creek, California, and notes on their status in the western Lahontan Basin. Great Basin Naturalist 49(4):540-551.
  4. Geospatial Conservation Assessment Tool (GeoCAT). 2023. Online. Available: http://geocat.kew.org/ (Accessed 2023)
  5. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
  6. iNaturalist. 2023. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2023).
  7. La Rivers, I. 1962. Fishes and Fisheries of Nevada. Nevada State Fish and Game Commission, Carson City, Nevada. 782 pp.
  8. 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.
  9. Master, L. L. 1996. Synoptic national assessment of comparative risks to biological diversity and landscape types: species distributions. Summary Progress Report submitted to Environmental Protection Agency. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia. 60 pp.
  10. 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.
  11. Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
  12. Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. Revised and expanded. University of California Press, Berkeley. xv + 502 pp.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. Sigler, W. F., and J. W. Sigler. 1987. Fishes of the Great Basin: a natural history. University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada. xvi + 425 pp.
  20. 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.