Quillback

Carpiodes cyprinus

Carpiodes cyprinus, Eng. Quillback, French Couette or Sawback carp sucker belongs to the family of Redhorse and is native to North America. It is closely related to the Highfin Carpsucker ( Carpiodes velifer ) and the River Carpsucker ( Carpiodes carpio).

Description

The English name comes from the Quillback strikingly long filament which projects from the dorsal fin. Carpiodes cyprinus is up to 65 centimeters long, on average, 50. The largest ever caught by rod and line Quillback of 3.40 kilograms and 61 centimeters in length was captured in the Deux- Montagnes Lake in Canada in 2002. They have compact body than other representatives of Redhorse and resemble more the carp. He can thereby be distinguished clearly from the carp, because all the barbels at the muzzle missing. His coloring is mostly silver and it has large scales.

Way of life

Carpiodes cyprinus feeds mainly on bottom-dwelling insect larvae on the body of water. Carpiodes cyprinus is oviparous. The fish can grow old in the wild up to eleven years.

Occurrence

The Quillback is widespread in the central and eastern United States between latitudes 54 ° N-30 ° N far. He comes into the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River to Hudson Bay in Canada before. Its original area of ​​distribution extends from Québec and Alberta in the north to Louisiana in the south, primarily around the Mississippi River and its tributaries. On the east coast you will find the Quillback in the Delaware River to the Altamaha River in Georgia. In the catchment area of the Gulf of Mexico from the Apalachicola River to the Pearl River in the state of Mississippi. Carpiodes cyprinus most of his time in rivers, dams, streams and clear lakes with sandy or muddy bottoms, where he scans the ground for food. He makes many hot water rivers of North America for a large proportion of the biomass.

Economic Importance

Fishing by C. cyprinus many places of little economic importance. Carpiodes cyprinus, C. and C. carpio velifer are rarely captured by anglers due to their dietary habits. Occasionally they are caught with bait such as worms, minnows or lures. Since it is moderately tolerant and against Gewässerdegradation relatively tolerant to water pollution, it is suitable as an indicator of little fish for healthy environmental conditions such as the Black Redhorse ( Moxostoma duquesnei ), which reacts highly sensitively to disturbances.

Notes and References

Weblink

• Carpiodes cyprinus endangered in the IUCN Red List species of 2013.2. Posted by: . NatureServe, 2011 Retrieved on December 19, 2013

• Redhorse
• Catostomidae