The Alabama hog sucker (''Hypentelium etowanum'') is a species of fish in the family

Catostomidae The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclusively native to North America. The only exceptions are ''Catostomus catostomus,'' found in ...

, the suckers. It is native to several river systems in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. Its range includes much of the state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and extends into parts of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

.NatureServe. 2015
''Hypentelium etowanum''.
NatureServe Explorer Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Accessed: June 7, 2016.

Description

This fish grows up to 23 centimeters in length.Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Eds
''Hypentelium etowanum''.
FishBase. 2016. It has dark bars along its back, horizontal pale stripes, and orange fins.O'Kelley, C. T., & Powers, S. L. (2007)
Life-history Aspects of ''Hypentelium etowanum'' (Alabama Hog Sucker) (Actinopterygii: Catostomidae) in Northern Georgia.
''Southeastern Naturalist'', 6(3), 479-490.

Taxonomy

This is one of three species in the genus ''

Hypentelium ''Hypentelium'' is a genus of suckers found in eastern United States and Canada. There are three recognized species of them. Species * '' Hypentelium etowanum'' ( D. S. Jordan, 1877) (Alabama hog sucker) * ''Hypentelium nigricans'' ( Lesueur, ...

''. ''

Hypentelium roanokense The Roanoke hogsucker (''Hypentelium roanokense'') is a fresh water, freshwater Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish found in the upper and middle Roanoke River basin in North Carolina and Virginia. It is very similar to and lives in the same area as ...

'' inhabits the Atlantic slope. There is a historical connection of the Tennessee River with the Mobile Basin, suggesting a closer sister relationship between ''

Hypentelium nigricans The northern hogsucker (''Hypentelium nigricans'') is a freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Catostomidae, the suckers. It is native to the United States and Canada where it is found in streams and rivers. It prefers clear, fast-fl ...

'' and ''H. etowanum''.Berendzen, P. B., Simons, A. M., & Wood, R. M. (2003). Phylogeography of the northern hogsucker, ''Hypentelium nigricans'' (Teleostei: Cypriniformes): genetic evidence for the existence of the ancient Teays River. ''Journal of Biogeography'', 30(8), 1139-1152.

Distribution

The fish lives in the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...

and

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...

drainages and nearby creeks.NatureServe. 2013
''Hypentelium etowanum''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013. Downloaded on 08 June 2016. The species was named for the

Etowah River The Etowah River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, north of Atlanta. On Matthew Carey's 1795 ...

of Georgia.

Biology and ecology

This species lives in clear water on rocky and gravelly substrates in riffles, creeks, and streams. It feeds on bottomdwelling life by rummaging through rocks with its bony head, long snout, and sucker mouth. A diet analysis showed that 90.6% of the contents in their stomachs were

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

, with

Chironomidae The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many species ...

larvae making up 88.8% of all food items. This species likely has a lifespan of over 5 years. Sexual maturity is attained around three years of age or at a length around 110 millimeters. It grows in size and weight most rapidly in spring due to increased feeding spurred by the impending spawning season. It spawns over gravel in pools and riffles. Typically when spawning, one female is flanked on each side by two males. Once eggs are released and fertilized there is no parental care invested and they hatch after ten days.

Conservation and management

This species is not considered to be threatened or endangered. It has a limited range but the population is relatively large and stable and divided into many subpopulations. There are no major threats. It is considered to be a common fish in its range.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4705380 Catostomidae Freshwater fish of the United States Fish described in 1877 Taxa named by David Starr Jordan