Animalia > Chordata > Cypriniformes > Cyprinidae > Ptychocheilus > Ptychocheilus lucius

Ptychocheilus lucius (Colorado pikeminnow; Colorado River Squawfish; Colorado Squafish; Colorado squawfish)

Synonyms: Ptychocheilus lucidus
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Wikipedia Abstract

The Colorado pikeminnow (formerly squawfish) Ptychocheilus lucius is the largest cyprinid fish of North America and one of the largest in the world, with reports of individuals up to 6 ft (1.8 m) long and weighing over 100 pounds (45 kg). Native to the Colorado River basin of the southwestern United States, it was formerly an important food fish for both Native Americans and European settlers. Once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers and range have declined to the point where it was listed as endangered in 1967, a fate shared by the three other large Colorado basin endemic fish species: bonytail chub, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. The Colorado pikeminnow is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
View Wikipedia Record: Ptychocheilus lucius

Endangered Species

Status: Vulnerable
View IUCN Record: Ptychocheilus lucius

Attributes

Adult Length [1]  5.904 feet (180 cm)
Brood Dispersal [1]  In the open
Brood Egg Substrate [1]  Lithophils (rock-gravel)
Brood Guarder [1]  No
Litter Size [1]  100,000
Maximum Longevity [1]  12 years
Migration [2]  Potamodromous
Diet [2]  Carnivore
Female Maturity [1]  6 years

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Canyonlands National Park II 335430 Utah, United States

Consumers

Parasitized by 
Schyzocotyle acheilognathi[3]

Range Map

External References

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
1Frimpong, E.A., and P. L. Angermeier. 2009. FishTraits: a database of ecological and life-history traits of freshwater fishes of the United States. Fisheries 34:487-495.
2Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org
3Gibson, D. I., Bray, R. A., & Harris, E. A. (Compilers) (2005). Host-Parasite Database of the Natural History Museum, London
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0