Hypentelium nigricans
Northern Hog Sucker
FR: meunier à tête carrée
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Cypriniformes (Carps and Minnows)
Catostomidae (Suckers)
Hypentelium
Hypentelium nigricans (Northern Hog Sucker)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated.
Distribution
North America: Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and Mississippi River basins from New York in USA and Ontario in Canada to Minnesota and south to Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana in USA; from Mohawk-Hudson River to Altamaha River in USA; from Pascagoula River to Comite River in USA.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. demersal. Found in: streams, lakes.
Biology
Inhabits rocky riffles, runs and pools of clear creeks and small rivers. Occasionally found in large rivers and impoundments (Ref. 5723, 10294). Feeds on immature stages of benthic insects and snails (Ref. 10294). It feeds by disturbing the stream bottom with its large snout and sucking up organisms that it dislodges (Ref. 84357).
Max length: 61.0 cm TL; common length: 29.8 cm TL; max weight: 480 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-02-16. Resilience: Low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
gamefish.
References
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (1991) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p.
Balon, E.K. (1975) Reproductive guilds of fishes: a proposal and definition. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 32(6):821-864.
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+89p.
Comments On Hypentelium nigricans