Carpiodes velifer
Highfin Carpsucker
NS
G4
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Cypriniformes (Carps and Minnows)
Catostomidae (Suckers)
Carpiodes
Carpiodes velifer (Highfin Carpsucker)
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: fusiform / normal.
Distribution
North America: Lake Michigan drainage and Mississippi River basin from Pennsylvania to Minnesota and South Dakota and south to Louisiana, USA; Atlantic Slope in Cape Fear and Santee River drainages in North Carolina, USA; Gulf Slope drainages from Choctawhatchee River to Pearl River in USA.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. demersal.
Biology
Occurs in pools and backwaters of creeks and small to large rivers (Ref. 3814, 10294).
Max length: 51.4 cm TL; common length: 26.5 cm TL; max weight: 2072 g; max age: 11 years.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-10-25. Resilience: Low (tmax=11).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
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. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (20):183 p.
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.
Bagley, J.C. and M.F. Breitman (2024) Length-weight relationships for 14 cypriniform freshwater fish species (Actinopterygii) from the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Acta Ichthyol. Pisc. 54:213-220. DOI: 10.3897/aiep.54.126623
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