Home/Species/ Fallfish

Semotilus corporalis

(Mitchill, 1817)

Fallfish

G5Secure Found in 5 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104606

Element CodeAFCJB41020

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassActinopterygii

OrderCypriniformes

FamilyLeuciscidae

GenusSemotilus

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.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-02-08

Change Date1996-09-17

Range Extent Comments

Atlantic slope, from James River drainage, Virginia, to New Brunswick; Hudson Bay, Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence drainages, Quebec, Ontario, and New York; common (Page and Burr 1991).

Occurrences Comments

This species is represented by a large number of subpopulations and locations.

Threat Impact Comments

Localized threats may exist, but on a range-wide scale no major threats are known.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Clear, flowing, gravel- to rubble-bottomed small to medium rivers; lake margins. Young occur in more rapid water upstream but large adults seem to seek large pools and expanded regions of the lower reaches. Spawns over pit made by male in gravel bottom; male covers eggs, forming a mound or ridge of gravel, which may be 2 m long (may be the largest nest built by any species of fish) (see Johnston and Page 1992). Many mature males spawn as satellites of pit-ridge-building males (Johnston and Page 1992).

Reproduction

Spawns in spring.

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
New Brunswick	S5	Yes
Ontario	S4	Yes
Quebec	S5	Yes

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Virginia	S5	Yes
Massachusetts	S4	Yes
New Jersey	S5	Yes
New Hampshire	S5	Yes
District of Columbia	S3	Yes
Pennsylvania	S5	Yes
Connecticut	S5	Yes
New York	S5	Yes
Maryland	S5	Yes
Vermont	S5	Yes
Rhode Island	S4	Yes
West Virginia	S4	Yes
Maine	S5	Yes
Delaware	S4	Yes

Roadless Areas (5)

Virginia (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Brush Mountain	Jefferson National Forest	6,002
Brush Mountain East	Jefferson National Forest	4,916
Jerkemtight	George Washington National Forest	16,687
Mottesheard (VA)	Jefferson National Forest	2,596
Three Sisters	George Washington National Forest	8,149

References (22)

Cooper, E. L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park. 243 pp.
Cox, Kenneth M. (District Fisheries Biologist, VT Department of Fish and Wildlife). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.
Halliwell, David B. (Maine Department of Environmental Protection). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. June 2000.
Hartel, Karsten E. (Dept. of Ichthyology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.
Jenkins, R. E., and N. M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxiii + 1079 pp.
Johnston, C. E., and L. M. Page. 1992. The evolution of complex reproductive strategies in North American minnows (Cyprinidae). Pages 600-621 in R. L. Mayden, editor. Systematics, historical ecology, and North American freshwater fishes. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. xxvi + 969 pp.
Krueger, William (Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. February and March 2000.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Raesly, Richard L. (Frostburg State University). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. April 2000.
Reed, R.J. 1971. Biology of the fallfish, <i>Semotilus corporalis</i> (Pisces: Cyprinidae). Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 100(4): 717-725.
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.
Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp.
Smith, C. L. 1983. Fishes of New York (maps and printout of a draft section on scarce fishes of New York). Unpublished draft.
Smith, C. L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, New York, xi + 522 pp.
Stauffer, J. R., Jr., J. M. Boltz, and L. R. White. 1995. The fishes of West Virginia. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 146:1-389.
Whittier, Thomas R. 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.
Whitworth, W. R., P. L. Berrien, and W. T. Keller. 1976. Freshwater fishes of Connecticut. Bulletin of the Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey 101. vi + 134 pp.