In fish, a suckermouth is a ventrally-oriented (inferior) mouth adapted for grazing on algae and small organisms that grow on submerged objects.
All
Loricariidae
The Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are not ...
possess a suckermouth as do the cypriniform
algae eater
Algae eater or algivore is a common name for any bottom-dwelling or filter-feeding aquatic animal species that specialize in feeding on algae and phytoplanktons. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping hobby and many are commonly kept by ...
s of the genus ''
Gyrinocheilus
''Gyrinocheilus'' is the single genus in the family Gyrinocheilidae, a family of small Southeast Asian cypriniform fishes that live in fast-flowing freshwater mountain streams. The species in this genus are commonly called "algae eaters." They ho ...
'' and other genera. The 'False Siamensis' (Epalzeorhynchus sp. or Garra taeniata) also has this feature. Three genera in
Mochokidae
The Mochokidae are a family of catfishes ( order Siluriformes) that are known as the squeakers and upside-down catfish (although not all species swim upside-down). There are nine genera and about 200 species of mochokids. All the mochokids are fr ...
, ''
Atopochilus'', ''
Chiloglanis
''Chiloglanis'' is a genus of upside-down catfishes native to Africa. These species have modified lips and barbels that form a suckermouth. They also have a naked (scaleless) body. Sexual dimorphism has been reported in ''Chiloglanis''. The adul ...
'', and ''
Euchilichthys'', also possess an oral sucker, formed by the lips and part of the
barbels
In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whiskerlike sensory organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the zebrafish, the black dragonfish and some ...
.
The Loricariidae and members of the genus ''Gyrinocheilus'' are further adapted by having a special opening on the gill cover so that the fish can breathe without using its mouth.
Additionally many other fish of the order
Cypriniformes
Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches, and relatives. Cypriniformes is an Order within the Superorder Ostariophysi consisting of "Carp-like" Ostariophysins. This order contains 11-12 families, ...
have developed a sucking ability to a lesser or greater extent:
*The
Hillstream loach
The hillstream loaches or river loaches are a family, the Balitoridae, of small fish from South, Southeast and East Asia. The family includes about 202 species. They are sometimes sold as "lizardfish" or (in Germany) "flossensaugers". Many of the ...
es (family
Balitoridae
The hillstream loaches or river loaches are a family, the Balitoridae, of small fish from South, Southeast and East Asia. The family includes about 202 species. They are sometimes sold as "lizardfish" or (in Germany) "flossensaugers". Many of the ...
) have modified fins to attach themselves to a surface and a ventrally located mouth.
*The
sucker fish (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 ...
) also have a modified mouth.
In general many
benthic
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...
dwelling or feeding fish will have a suckermouth feature. Many of these fishes originate from fast-moving waters, where the sucker allows the fish to 'stick' itself down without too much difficulty.
Whilst all these fish have a limited sucking ability – they are able to swallow their food – it is not necessarily correct to assume that they can attach themselves to a submerged object by suction; though their behaviour may give that impression, the orientation of their fins and a flow of water can give sufficient downward force to temporarily attach themselves to an object.
See also
*
Lamprey
Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...
– Uses teeth to attach itself to a host. The sucker-like mouth is generally termed as an "oral disk."
*
Remora
The remora (), sometimes called suckerfish, is any of a family (Echeneidae) of ray-finned fish in the order Carangiformes. Depending on species, they grow to long. Their distinctive first dorsal fins take the form of a modified oval, sucker-li ...
– Sometimes known as 'suckerfish', remora use a modified dorsal fin to stick onto objects and other animals.
*
Leech
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...
– The anterior portion (not the mouth) of this animal is modified to attach itself to a host.
References
{{diversity of fish
Fish common names
Fish anatomy
Loricariidae