The highfin carpsucker (''Carpiodes velifer'') is a freshwater

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

found in the

southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

and

midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. Its usual habitat is medium to large-size rivers where it is mostly found beneath the surface. It is a silvery fish with a prominent dorsal fin, which grows to an average length of . It reaches sexual maturity at the age of three and females lay a clutch of about two dozen eggs once a year in the spring or early summer. This fish forages on sandy or gravelly bottoms for such small invertebrates as

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

s, protozoa and

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s as well as

filamentous algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

. Young fish are preyed on by

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskell ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

and

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

and larger fish are caught by recreational fishermen. The highfin carpsucker competes with

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

and does not thrive in rivers with high levels of siltation.

Description

The highfin carpsucker is generally around long, with a maximum recorded length of . A silvery fish, it receives its specific name "velifer" from its exceptionally long dorsal fin. It can live for about twelve years.

Distribution

Highfin carpsuckers can be found throughout most of the eastern part of the United States and partially west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. They have a traditional temperate-water distribution and are most commonly found between 46 and 31°N. They can inhabit waters from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, but are not found in the northeast portion of the United States. They can be found even more abundantly in the Mississippi River basin and the Lake Michigan drainages, as well as in adjacent rivers and drainages. The highfin carpsucker has been introduced in the

Santee River } The Santee River is a river in South Carolina in the United States, and is long. The Santee and its tributaries provide the principal drainage for the coastal areas of southeastern South Carolina and navigation for the central coastal plain of ...

and along Cape Fear in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Highfin carpsuckers are generally found in large- to moderate-sized rivers. This species is found in medium-depth water (4 to 10 ft) usually in areas with rocky gravel substrates. They tend to stay in more shallow water than most carpsuckers and do not go in smaller streams like the

quillback The quillback (''Carpiodes cyprinus''), also known as the quillback carpsucker, is a type of freshwater fish of the sucker family widely distributed throughout North America. It is deeper-bodied than most suckers, leading to a carplike appearan ...

Ecology

Their diet includes an assortment of small

s, protozoa,

, and other aquatic invertebrates such as crayfish and snails. This species prefers to feed in large to moderately sized rivers, but usually stays closer to the bank than the open river channel. However, it is not common for the highfin carpsucker to be found in very shallow water.

Northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

, and

have been known to prey on the highfin carpsucker. as.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=343/ref> However, humans are still the most significant predator this species encounters. The highfin carpsucker does not tolerate very much change in the water velocity and prefers to stay in moderate to swift currents. This species feeds and thrives in areas with a consistent sandy or rocky gravel substrate. Siltation can cause a variety of problems for this species, and some of the other species with which the highfin directly competes.

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

and other

carps Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

are their toughest competitors. Some of these species possibly survive in the same areas, but the highfin carpsucker does best without much competition. The abundance of highfin carpsuckers may have a direct impact on traditional game species, because these bottom feeders are responsible for the cleaning of their habitat. Fisheries depend on them to keep the environment in check so it can support more marketable game species.

Lifecycle

In the third year of life, this species becomes sexually mature. Highfin carpsuckers breed when temperatures are around . Highfins generally spawn from April through June, and in some states, eggs have been found until late August. They only breed once a year, not again in the fall like some species. Generally, the average clutch is around 20 to 30 young. After spawning, they live for around 12 years in the wild. However, if this species is grown in captivity, it may only live for four years. Highfin carpsuckers migrate locally, but are not considered a migratory species.

References

*Young Shawn P.; Grabowski Timothy B.; Ely Patrick C. 2010. First Record of Carpiodes velifer (Highfin Carpsucker) in the Apalachicola River, Florida. SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Pages: 165-170 *Pam Fuller. 2011. Carpiodes velifer. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=343 RevisionDate: 3/6/2011 *Hammerson, G. 2004.Nature Serve Explorer. An online ecyclpedia of Life. Comprehensive Report Species - Carpiodes velifer *Ronald L. Woodwarda & Thomas E. Wissinga. 1976. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Age, Growth, and Fecundity of the Quillback (Carpiodes cyprinus) and Highfin (C. velifer) Carpsuckers in an Ohio Stream. Volume 105, Issue 3 . *Woodward RL; Wissing TE. 1976. Age, Growth, and fecundity of Quillback (Capiodes cyprinius) and Highfin (Capiodes velifer) carpsuckers in the Ohio stream. Transactions of the American Fisheris Society. Volume:105 Issue:3 Pages:411-415 *nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=343 *www.dnr.state.oh.us/Default.aspx?tabid=22718 *www.iowagis.org/iris/fishatlas/IA163920.html {{Taxonbar, from=Q5045827 highfin carpsucker Freshwater fish of the United States highfin carpsucker highfin carpsucker