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A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Semotilus corporalis

Fallfish
NS G5
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

Records

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Cypriniformes (Carps and Minnows) Cyprinidae (Carps and Minnows) Semotilus Semotilus corporalis (Fallfish)

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.) and processed using AI-assisted text extraction. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Body shape: fusiform / normal. <>Semotilus corporalis can be distinguished by the possession of the following characters: large eye; large lateral scales (43-50); moderately compressed body; fairly long, rounded snout slightly overhanging large mouth; dorsal fin origin over or slightly behind pelvic-fin origin; 8 dorsal rays; 8 anal rays; adults have scales on backs and upper side darkly outlined; and young has black stripe along side, dark caudal spot. Olive to gold-brown above, dark stripe along back; bright silver side, sometimes with purple or blue sheen; black bar along back of gill cover. Breeding males have fairly large tubercles on head (Ref. 86798).

Distribution

North America: Hudson Bay, Lake Ontario, and Atlantic Slope drainages from Quebec and Ontario, Canada to James River drainage, Virginia, USA.

Habitat Associations

Freshwater. demersal. Found in: streams, lakes.

Biology

Inhabits gravel- and rubble-bottomed pools and runs of small to medium rivers, and also lake margins (Ref. 86798).
Max length: 51.0 cm TL; common length: 17.0 cm TL; max weight: 1610 g; max age: 6 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-03-01. Resilience: Medium (Fec=12,021).

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; gamefish.

References

Flemer, D.A. and W.S. Woolcott (1966) Food habits and distribution of the fishes of Tuckahoe Creek, Virginia, with special emphasis on the bluegill, Lepomis m. macrochirus Rafinesque. Chesapeake Sci. 7(2):75-89.
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.

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