Spotted Sucker
Return To Search
Name and Code
Family
Catostomidae - suckers
Species
Minytrema melanops
Taxonomic Authority
(Rafinesque 1820)
Common Name(s)
Spotted Sucker
French Name
meunier tacheté
Species Code
167
Family TSN
163892
Parent TSN
163958
Species TSN
163959
Conservation Status
Global Rank (GRank)
G5 (2016-02-09)
National Rank (NRank)
N2 (2016-02-09)
Provincial Rank (SRank)
S2 (1997-10-06)
COSEWIC Status
Special Concern (Nov 2014)
SARO Status
Special Concern (2015)
AFS Status
none
Status Notes
none
Ecological Value
Ontario Origin
native
General Abundance
rare
Tolerance
intermediate
Economic Importance
none
Length-Weight Regression Coefficents
Intercept (a)
-5.753
Slope (b)
3.341
Length Basis
TL
Habitat and Feeding
General Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Environment
benthic
Trophic Class
invertivore
Thermal Regime
warmwater
Habitat Preference
nearshore of lakes and deep pools of creeks and small to medium rivers with firm sandy, gravelly or rocky substrates; preferred water temperature range 25-27°C
Reproduction
Reproductive Guild
Nonguarders: Open substratum spawners: Litho-pelagophils
Spawning Habitat(s)
riverine
Spawning Season
spring
Spawning Month(s)
May-June
Spawning Temperature (°C)
12-19.5
Fecundity
19,600-51,000
Nursery Habitat(s)
riverine
Size and Age
Adult Length (cm)
22.9-38.1 TL
Adult Weight (kg)
0.14-0.74
Age at Maturity (yrs)
2-4 (m); 3-5 (f)
Maximum Length (cm)
58.0 TL
Maximum Weight (kg)
2.38
Lifespan (yrs)
6 (m); 8 (f)
Ontario Records
Record Length (cm)
51.0 TL
Record Weight (kg)
none
Ontario Range Map
Spotted Sucker range
Ontario Distribution
western Lake Erie, Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and tributaries, St. Clair River, Sydenham River, Thames River; first reported from Ontario waters of Lake St. Clair in 1962
Photographs
Spotted Sucker photograph
Spotted Sucker photograph
Notes
intolerant of turbidity, siltation and industrial pollution; use as live prohibited
Information Sources
Bailey, R.M., W.C. Latta, and G.R. Smith. 2004. An atlas of Michigan fishes with keys and illustrations for their identification. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications No. 192. iv + 215 pp.
Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. Tolerance and trophic guilds of selected fish species. Appendix C in Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water. Washington, DC.
Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. xii + 1052 pp.
Carlander, K.D. 1969. Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Volume one. Life history data on freshwater fishes of the United States and Canada, exclusive of the Perciformes. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA. vi + 752 pp.
Coad, B.W. with H. Waszczuk and I. Labignan. 1995. Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions. Ottawa and Waterdown, ON. viii + 928 pp.
Coker, G.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 2001. Morphological and ecological characteristics of Canadian freshwater fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2554: iv + 89 p.
Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press. University Park and London. vii + 243 pp.
COSEWIC. 2005. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Spotted Sucker Minytrema melanops in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 16 pp.
COSEWIC. 2023. Canadian wildlife species at risk. October 2023. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Gatineau, QC. iv + 130 pp.
Cudmore, B. and N.E. Mandrak. 2018. The baitfish primer: a guide to identifying and protecting Ontario's baitfishes. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bait Association of Ontario, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. March 2018. 40 pp.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2550: v + 39 p.
Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023.
Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. [2nd printing, 2001]. The University of Tennessee Press. Knoxville, TN. xiv + 689 pp.
Goldstein, R.M. and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. Pages 123-202 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Hasnain, S.S, C.K. Minns, and B.J. Shuter. 2010. Key ecological temperature metrics for Canadian freshwater fishes. Climate change research report: CCRR-17. Applied Research and Development Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Sault Ste. Marie, ON. 54 pp.
Holm, E., N. Mandrak, and M. Burridge. 2021. A field guide to freshwater fishes of Ontario, second edition. Royal Ontario Museum Science Publication. Toronto, ON. 486 pp.
Hubbs, C.L. and K.F. Lagler. 1964. Fishes of the Great Lakes region. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xv + 213 pp.
Hubbs, C.L., K.F. Lagler, and G.R. Smith. 2004. Fishes of the Great Lakes region, revised edition. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xvii + 276 pp.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. On-line database. http://www.itis.gov, retrieved 02 May 2023.
Kay, L.K., R. Wallus, and B.L. Yeager. 1994. Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage. Volume 2. Catostomidae. Tennessee Valley Authority. Chattanooga, TN. vii + 242 pp.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Nursery habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2338: v + 42 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Adult habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2358: v + 43 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Spawning habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2368: v + 48 p.
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History Publication 1980-12. Raleigh, NC. x + 867 pp.
Mandrak, N.E. and E.J. Crossman. 1992. A checklist of Ontario freshwater fishes annotated with distribution maps. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publication. Toronto, ON. v + 176 pp.
McAllister, D.E., B.J. Parker, and P.M. McKee. 1985. Rare, endangered and extinct fishes in Canada. Syllogeus 54. National Museum of Natural Sciences. Ottawa, ON. 192 pp.
Meador, R.M. and D.M. Carlisle. 2007. Quantifying tolerance indicator values for common stream fishes of the United States. Ecol. Indicators. 7:329-338.
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: February 2, 2023).
O. Reg. 230/08 (2023). Species at Risk in Ontario List. under Endangered Species Act, 2007, S.O. 2007, c. 6.. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/080230 January 25, 2023.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico, second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston, MA. xix + 663 pp.
Page, L.M., K.E. Bemis, T.E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, K.E. Hartel, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, M.A. Neighbors, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, and H.J. Walker Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 8th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 37. Bethesda, MD. 439 pp.
Parker, B. and P. McKee. 1984. Status of the Spotted Sucker, Minytrema melanops, in Canada. Can. Field-Nat. 98(1):104-109.
Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill. 1982. Fishes of the Minnesota region. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN. x + 248 pp.
Portt, C.B., G. Coker, and C.K. Minns. 1999. Riverine Habitat Characteristics of Fishes of the Great Lakes Watershed. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2481: vi + 62 p.
Ross, S.T. 2001. The inland fishes of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. xx + 624 pp.
Scott, W.B. 1967. Freshwater fishes of eastern Canada, second edition. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. xii + 137 pp.
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184. [1998 Reprint] Galt House Publications Ltd. Oakville, ON. xx + 966 pp.
Scharpf, C. 2006. Annotated checklist of North American freshwater fishes, including subspecies and undescribed forms. Part II: Catostomidae through Mugilidae. American Currents 32(4):1-39.
Simon, T.P. 1999. Assessment of Balon's reproductive guilds with application to midwestern North American freshwater fishes. Pages 97-122 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Smith, P.W. 2002. The fishes of Illinois. University of Illinois Press. Urbana and Chicago, IL. xxix + 314 pp.
Stauffer, Jr., J.R., J.M. Boltz and L.R. White. 1995. The fishes of West Virginia. Reprinted from The Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 146:1-389. Pennsylvania State University. 389 pp.
Stauffer, Jr., J.R., R.W. Criswell and D.P. Fischer. 2016. The fishes of Pennsylvania. Cichlid Press. El Paso, TX. 556 pp.
Trautman, M.B. 1981. The fishes of Ohio with illustrated keys, revised edition. Ohio State University Press. Columbus, OH. xxv + 782 pp.
Trebitz, A.S., J.C. Brazner, V.J. Brady, R. Axler, and D.K. Tanner. 2007. Turbidity tolerances of Great Lakes coastal wetland fishes. N. Amer. J. Fish. Man. 27:619-633.
Warren, M.L., Jr., and B.M. Burr [Eds]. 2014. Freshwater Fishes of North America, Volume 1: Petromyzontidae to Catostomidae. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. xv + 644 pp.
Winterton, G. [Ed]. 2005. The comprehensive bait guide for eastern Canada, the Great Lakes region and northeastern United States: identifying, harvesting and culture of baitfishes, crayfishes, frogs and leeches. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. iv + 437 pp.
Wismer, D.A. and A.E. Christie. 1987. Temperature relationships of Great Lakes fishes: a data compilation. Great Lakes Fish. Comm. Spec. Pub. 87-3. 195 pp.