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| Greater Redhorse |
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| Name and Code |
| Family |
| Catostomidae - suckers |
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| Species |
| Moxostoma valenciennesi |
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| Taxonomic Authority |
| Jordan 1885 |
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| Common Name(s) |
| Greater Redhorse |
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| French Name |
| chevalier jaune |
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| Conservation Status |
| Global Rank (GRank) |
| G4 (2001-02-20) |
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| Provincial Rank (SRank) |
| S3 (1997-10-09) |
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| AFS Status |
| Vulnerable (1) |
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| Ecological Value |
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| General Abundance |
| uncommon |
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| Length-Weight Regression Coefficents |
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| Habitat and Feeding |
| General Habitat(s) |
| lacustrine, riverine |
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| Trophic Class |
| invertivore |
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| Habitat Preference |
| moderate to swift current riffles, runs and pools of medium to large rivers with clear water and substrates of gravel, cobble or boulders; lakes |
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| Reproduction |
| Reproductive Guild |
| Nonguarders: Open substratum spawners: Lithophils |
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| Spawning Habitat(s) |
| riverine |
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| Spawning Month(s) |
| May-June |
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| Spawning Temperature (°C) |
| 13-19 |
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| Nursery Habitat(s) |
| riverine |
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| Size and Age |
| Adult Length (cm) |
| 38.1-61.6 TL |
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| Adult Weight (kg) |
| 0.5-2.2 |
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| Age at Maturity (yrs) |
| 5 (m); 6 (f) |
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| Maximum Length (cm) |
| 80 TL |
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| Ontario Records |
| Record Length (cm) |
| 68.8 TL |
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| Ontario Range Map |
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Ontario Distribution |
| Ottawa River and tributaries, tributaries of Lakes Ontario, Erie, St. Clair and Huron, north to Spanish River, English River, Lake-of-the-Woods |
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| Photographs |
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| Notes |
| sensitive to turbidity, siltation and pollution; use as bait prohibited |
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| 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. |
| Bernatchez, L. and M. Giroux. 2000. Les poissons d’eau douce du Québec et leur répartition dans l’Est du Canada. Broquet Inc. Saint-Constant, QC. 350 pp.
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| 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. |
| Cook, S.J. and C.M. Bunt. 1999. Spawning and reproductive biology of the Greater Redhorse, Moxostoma valenciennesi, in the Grand River, Ontario. Can. Field-Nat. 113(3):497-502. |
| Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press. University Park and London. vii + 243 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. |
| Desroches, J-F. and I. Picard. 2013. Poissons d’eau douce du Québec et des Maritimes. Éditions Michel Quintin. Waterloo, QC. 471 pp. |
| Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023. |
| 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. |
| Goodyear, C.S., T.A. Edsall, D.M. Ormsby Dempsey, G.D. Moss, and P.E. Polanski. 1982. Atlas of the spawning and nursery areas of Great Lakes fishes. Volume thirteen: Reproductive characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, DC. FWS/OBS-82/52. |
| Halliwell, D.B., R.W. Langdon, R.A. Daniels, J.P. Kurtenbach, and R.A. Jacobson. 1999. Classification of freshwater fishes of the northeastern United States for use in the development of indices of biological integrity. Pages 301-337 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. |
| 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). 2026. On-line database. https://www.itis.gov, retrieved 25 August 2026. |
| Jelks, H.L., S.J. Walsh, N.M. Burkhead, S. Contreras-Balderas, E. Díaz-Pardo, D.A. Hendrickson, J. Lyons, N.E. Mandrak, F. McCormick, J.S. Nelson, S.P. Platania, B.A. Porter, C.B. Renaud, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, E.B. Taylor, and M.L. Warren, Jr. 2008. Conservation status of imperiled North American freshwater and diadromous fishes. Fisheries 33(8):372-407. |
| 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. and B.W. Coad. 1974. Fishes of Canada's National Capital Region/Poissons de la r?gion de la capitale du Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Misc. Spec. Publ. 24: 203 pp. |
| NatureServe. 2026. NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: August 16, 2026). |
| Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). 2026. Natural Heritage Information Centre Species List. https://www.publicdocs.mnr.gov.on.ca/srb/Ontario_Species_list.xlsx. 18 June 2026. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Reid, S.M. 2007. Comparison of scales, pectoral fin rays and opercles for age estimation of Ontario Redhorse, Moxostoma, species. Can. Field-Nat. 121(1): 29-34. |
| 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, C.L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. xi + 522 pp. |
| Smith, P.W. 2002. The fishes of Illinois. University of Illinois Press. Urbana and Chicago, IL. xxix + 314 pp. |
| Stewart, K.W. and D.A. Watkinson. 2004. The freshwater fishes of Manitoba. University of Manitoba Press. Winnipeg, MB. xvii + 276 pp. |
| Trautman, M.B. 1981. The fishes of Ohio with illustrated keys, revised edition. Ohio State University Press. Columbus, OH. xxv + 782 pp. |
| 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. |
| Werner, R.G. 2004. Freshwater fishes of the northeastern United States: a field guide. Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, NY. xiv + 335 pp. |
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