us NORTHERN FISHES 



farther. It is a comparatively rare fish in Minnesota, where it is prob- 

 ably confined to the Mississippi River below St. Paul and to Lake St. 

 Croix. It is highly esteemed as a food fish. The flesh is firm, flaky, and 

 well flavored. Specimens in the University of Minnesota collections 

 were taken from the Mississippi River below La Crosse in 1938 and 

 from Lake St. Croix in 1941. Cox (1897) reported that it was taken 

 at Minneapolis in 1880. Greene (1935) reported it as common in the 

 Mississippi River near Lansing, Iowa. 



GENUS Catosto?mis LeSueur 



These are the fine-scaled suckers with short dorsal fins having less 

 than 20 rays. Many species and subspecies are found in North America, 

 of which only two species occur in Minnesota and neighboring states. 



COMMON WHITE SUCKER (Black Sucker, White Sucker, Mullet, 

 Nah- way-bin of the Red Lake Chippewas) 



Catostomus coinmersonnii commersonnii (Lacepede) 



The common white sucker (Figure 17) has a slender cylindrical body 

 with a rather blunt snout. The upper lip is thin, with two or three rows 

 of papillae. The scales are larger than in the northern sturgeon sucker, 

 numbering about 70 (60-80) in the lateral line. It is variable in colora- 

 tion, particularly during the spawning season, when it is so dark as to 

 receive locally the common name of black sucker. During the spawning 

 season the males have a well-marked black lateral band, below which 

 and parallel to it there is a salmon-colored or rosy one. At this time the 

 back is nearly jet black and the belly cream colored, making a rather 

 striking-looking fish. This breeding coloration is quickly changed for a 

 more somber one at the close of spawning; in fact, the change from a 

 dark color with black and rosy bands to a light color will occur within 

 a few minutes at this season if the fish is caught and held in a net or 

 confined in any manner. 



The common white sucker ranges from the Mackenzie River to east- 

 ern Canada and southward to the Gulf States. It is abundant in all of 

 the waters of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and nearby states. It occurs in 

 enormous numbers in the headwaters of tributaries to the Mississippi 

 River and in the streams and lakes of the Superior, Rainy, and Red 

 River drainages. It reaches a length of over 20 inches. 



Suckers spawn rather early in May. Although many suckers crowd the 

 tributaries for spawning, vast numbers spawn in the shallow margins 

 of almost all Minnesota lakes. Within a few weeks after the spawning 

 these waters are cloudy with swarms of tiny golden-eye fry, which soon 

 disappear, many undoubtedly contributing to the diet of the hungrj% 

 newly hatched fry of the game fishes. During the spring of 1917 suckers 

 spawned in enormous numbers in the long series of rapids in the Missis- 



