Page View
Becker, George C. / Fishes of Wisconsin
(1983)
Sucker family - catostomidae, pp. 607-691 ff.
PDF (39.5 MB)
Page 608
608 Sucker Family-Catostomidae be distinguished from suckers by their hardened spinelike rays at the front of the dorsal and anal fins. In suckers, the pharyngeal teeth are numerous, often comblike, and in a single row on each arch; in min- nows, there are fewer than nine teeth per arch, and these may be ar- ranged in one to three rows. In suckers, barbels are absent. The scales are cycloid. The mouth, usually on the lower portion of the head, is suckerlike; it is protrusible in many species. The lips are fleshy, with many folds or papillae, or both. Parts of the first four vertebrae are highly modified into a device known as the Weberian apparatus-a characteristic shared with minnows and many other freshwater fishes. The flesh of most sucker species is filled with numerous Y-shaped (intermuscular) bones. The pharyngeal teeth in the suckers are diagnostic in a number of spe- cies. Most have thin, comblike teeth; a few have strong, flat-topped, and molarlike teeth. Branson (1962) discusses in detail the structure and func- tion of the pharyngeal teeth. The sucker's food is ground and swallowed by means of elaborate spindloid muscles, which move the pharyngeal arches against a massive dorsal pad. The pharyngeal pad in many suckers is swollen and thickened ven- trally, and it almost fills in the pharyngeal and mouth cavities, leaving only a narrow slit between the gill arches and the pad. In Carpiodes and Ictiobus only small animal and plant foods are ingestible. Their pharyn- geal teeth are small and weak, and the arches accordingly may be paper thin and extremely fragile. Large food organisms with hard parts cannot easily be accommodated by such a system. muscle and fascia branchial arch V cartilage (pharyngeal arch covered with membrane) pharyngeal pad gill rakers symphysis opening into gut Cross section just anterior to the arches bearing the pharyngeal teeth in the smallmouth buffalo Suckers play an important role in the early stages of the food chain. They feed largely on aquatic insects and their larvae, and on small mol- lusks, algae, and minute crustaceans. They are effective vacuum clean- ers, taking their food from the bottom muds, rocks, plants, and logs, and from the water itself. They are able to find their food by touch and taste as well as by sight. Such versatility may be responsible for their large numbers. In many Wisconsin waters, the total weight of the suck- ers surpasses the total weight of all the other fishes combined. Their value as a forage fish is well known, and suckers have been stocked in some waters as a food source for large sport fish.
Copyright 1983. The entirety of this book is available for viewing by the public as an Open Access text through the cooperative efforts of George Becker, the University of Wisconsin Press, and the UWDCC. This Work is copyrighted to the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Any use of this material falling outside the purview of "Fair Use" requires the permission of the University of Wisconsin Press.