BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Catostomus columbianus
Bridgelip Sucker
| Scientific Name: | Catostomus columbianus (Eigenmann and Eigenmann, 1893) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Bridgelip Sucker | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | F-CACO | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Feb 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S5 (Jul 2025) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | In British Columbia, probably spawns in late spring; ripe females have been taken in early June. Sexually mature when about 5 inches long. | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: | Very little is known about the biology of this species (Scott and Crossman 1973). Predators may include mammals and birds. Young fish may be preyed upon by other fishes. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | This sucker inhabits lake margins and riffles, sand/silt runs, and backwaters of creeks and small to medium rivers with swift, cold water and gravel or rocky bottoms (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 2011). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | No definitive studies available. Presumably feeds by scrap- ing alage from rocks with its sharp-edged lower jaw. In addition, it probably feeds on aquatic insect larvae and crustaceans. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 25/ / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Range includes the Pacific Slope of North America from the Fraser River, British Columbia, south through the Columbia River drainage, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Nevada (only below Shoshone Falls on Snake River), and Harney River basin, eastern Oregon (Page and Burr 2011). Subspecies hubbsi: Wood River system, Idaho. Subspecies palouseanus: Palouse River, western Idaho and eastern Washington; Crooked Creek, Oregon. Subspecies columbianus: remainder of range. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Oct 26, 2011 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
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, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp. |
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Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp. |
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Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp. |
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Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp. |
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Simpson, J. and R. Wallace. 1982. Fishes of Idaho. The University Press of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. 238 pp. |
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Smith, G. R. 1966. Distribution and evolution of the North American catostomid fishes of the subgenus Pantosteus, genus Catostomus. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publication 129:1-33. |
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Smith, G. R. 1992. Phylogeny and biogeography of the Catostomidae, freshwater fishes of North America and Asia. Pages 778-826 in R.L. Mayden, editor. Systematics, historical ecology, and North American freshwater fishes. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. xxvi + 969 pp. |
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Wydoski, R. S., and R. R. Whitney. 1979. Inland fishes of Washington. The University of Washington Press, Seattle. 220 pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2011. Species Summary: Catostomus columbianus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 8, 2026).