The Warner sucker (''Catostomus warnerensis'') is a rare species of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

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 ...

. Native to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and found only in the Warner Basin, its distribution extends just into

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

''Catostomus warnerensis''.
The Nature Conservancy. and

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 ...

.USFWS
''Catostomus warnerensis'' Five-year Review.
August 2010. It is a federally listed threatened species. Its other common name is redhorse.Williams, J. E. (1995)
Threatened fishes of the world: ''Catostomus warnerensis'' Snyder, 1908 (Catostomidae).
''Environmental Biology of Fishes'' 44(4) 346. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has rated this fish as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

because of its small extent of occurrence, the small number of locations in which it is found, and the extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy resulting from drought and water abstraction. Conservation efforts have been put in place.

Description

This

sucker Sucker may refer to: General use * Lollipop or sucker, a type of confection * Sucker (slang), a slang term for a very gullible person * Hard candy ** Cough drop ** Mint (candy) Biology * Sucker (botany), a term for a shoot that arises undergro ...

is up to about in length. It has a dark back and sides and a white belly. The male and some females take on a bright red wash along the sides during the

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

season. The fish spawns in the creeks when they are full in the spring, as well as in canals and on lakeshores. The fish can reach the age of twenty. It becomes sexually mature at three or four.

Distribution

This fish is native to shallow lakes and associated

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es and intermittent lakes and creeks in the

Warner Valley The Warner Valley is a valley in south-central Oregon in the United States. It is a remote valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Basin and Range Province. The valley is home to a chain of lakes and wetlands known as the Warner ...

Lake County, Oregon Lake County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,160. Its county seat is Lakeview. The county is named after the many lakes found within its boundaries, including Lake Abert, Summe ...

. It has been seen in Twelvemile Creek just over the border in Nevada and West Barrel Creek within California state lines. It was historically quite abundant in the valley. There is only one

metapopulation A metapopulation consists of a group of spatially separated populations of the same species which interact at some level. The term metapopulation was coined by Richard Levins in 1969 to describe a model of population dynamics of insect pests in ...

of the fish, made up of several subpopulations. There are two

morph Morph may refer to: Biology * Morph (zoology), a visual or behavioral difference between organisms of distinct populations in a species * Muller's morphs, a classification scheme for genetic mutations * "-morph", a suffix commonly used in tax ...

s, one that lives in the lakes and one that stays in stream habitat past spawning time. The lake-dwelling morph is generally larger in size. The stream morph may be the only one that is now experiencing

recruitment Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the processes involved in choosing individual ...

Status

Threats to the species include the many

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

s which have been installed in the local creeks to divert water for agriculture. These impoundments prevent fish migration and reduce the stream flows. The spawning grounds may be polluted and loaded with excessive

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

. The introduced

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

(''Pomoxis'' spp.) may be a predator on the juvenile sucker.

Drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

is also a current threat. The drought conditions are then made worse with increased irrigation demands on the dwindling water supply. The

has rated this fish as an

because of its small extent of occurrence, the small number of locations in which it is found, and the extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy resulting from changes in the amount of available habitat. Conservation efforts include the restoration of

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

vegetation and the construction of a

fishway A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

at a dam on a major creek. Individuals have been transplanted to Summer Lake Wildlife Management Area when they were threatened by drought conditions; these fish died but not before successfully reproducing in their new habitat. Conservation activities in the area have been shown to benefit the

Great Basin redband trout The Great Basin redband trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii'') is one of three redband trout subspecies of the rainbow trout in the western United States. The Great Basin redband trout is native to drainages in south central Oregon east of th ...

(''Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii'') as well as the sucker.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q307096

Warner sucker The Warner sucker (''Catostomus warnerensis'') is a rare species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. Native to Oregon in the United States and found only in the Warner Lakes, Warner Basin, its distribution extends just into ...

Endemic fauna of the United States Fish of the Western United States Freshwater fish of the United States Fauna of the Great Basin Fauna of California Natural history of Oregon Natural history of Nevada Endangered fauna of California Endangered fauna of the United States Taxonomy articles created by Polbot ESA threatened species Fish described in 1908