Pantosteus discobolus, Bluehead sucker

Pantosteus discobolus (Cope, 1871)

Bluehead sucker
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Google image
Image of Pantosteus discobolus (Bluehead sucker)
Pantosteus discobolus
Picture by The Native Fish Conservancy

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cypriniformes (Carps) > Catostomidae (Suckers) > Catostominae
More on author: Cope.

Taxonomic Remarks
The species Pantosteus jarrowii (Cope, 1874) is valid. The species summary page will be created.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 126106). Temperate; 44°N - 35°N

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North America: Snake River system (Columbia River drainage), Wyoming, and Idaho; Lake Bonneville basin, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah; south through upper Colorado river drainage (Grand Canyon and above), Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona in the USA. Two subspecies were recognized: Catostomus discobolus discobolus and Catostomus discobolus jarrovii.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 41.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86798)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Blue head (darkest on adult; no blue in Little Colorado River, Arizona population), slender caudal peduncle, predorsal scales usually 50 or more, and 78-122 scales on lateral line (Ref. 86798).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults inhabit rocky riffles and runs of small to large rivers (Ref. 5723, 86798).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p. (Ref. 86798)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 26 October 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5078   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00537 (0.00228 - 0.01266), b=3.05 (2.84 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.1   ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.089-0.32).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100). 🛈