The Sacramento pikeminnow (''Ptychocheilus grandis''), formerly known as the Sacramento squawfish, is a large

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

fish of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. It is native to the Los Angeles River,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

- San Joaquin, Pajaro- Salinas, Russian River, Clear Lake and upper

Pit River The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range. The longest tributary of the Sacr ...

river basins. It is predatory and reaches up to in

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

. The species has been introduced into the Salt River, where it is considered an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

. The species was introduced to the Eel River watershed in the 1970s by anglers using the pikeminnow as bait. It has a large appetite for

salmonid Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...

species once it reaches about long. Until then, it eats anything in its path. Because it is invasive in the Eel River, it has very few predators. River otter populations have increased and helped stabilize the pikeminnow population, but they still put pressure on endangered salmonid species.

References

External links

"Sacramento pikeminnow" on the California Fish Website
. accessed October 5, 2010. Ptychocheilus Endemic fauna of California Fish of the Western United States Freshwater fish of the United States Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Los Angeles River Sacramento River Salinas River (California) San Joaquin River Fish described in 1854 {{Leuciscinae-stub