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Couesius plumbeus
Picture by JJPhoto
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Picture by JJPhoto
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) > Cypriniformes (Carps) > Leuciscidae (Minnows) > Plagopterinae
Etymology: Couesius: From the American ornithologist Eliot Coues of the US Army Medical Coprs (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Elliott Ladd Coues (pronounced ‘cows’) (1842–1899) was a US Army Surgeon who graduated from Columbia University (1861) then being appointed Assistant-Surgeon in the army (1864). [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Agassiz.
Etymology: Couesius: From the American ornithologist Eliot Coues of the US Army Medical Coprs (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Elliott Ladd Coues (pronounced ‘cows’) (1842–1899) was a US Army Surgeon who graduated from Columbia University (1861) then being appointed Assistant-Surgeon in the army (1864). [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Agassiz.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.5 - 7.8; non-migratory. Temperate; 4°C - 25°C (Ref. 12468); 66°N - 40°N
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
North America: Alaska (Yukon River drainage); throughout most of Canada and northern USA; south to Delaware River in New York, south end of Lake Michigan, Illinois, Platte River system in Colorado, and Columbia River drainage in Washington, USA. Relict population in Mississippi River basin in Iowa, USA. Sometimes hybridizes with Rhinichthys cataractae in Lake Superior (Ref. 4564).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 8.6 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 23.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86798); common length : 10.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. reported age: 5 years (Ref. 12193)
Max length : 23.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86798); common length : 10.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. reported age: 5 years (Ref. 12193)
Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9; Vertebrae: 39 - 44. Couesius plumbeus is distinguished by having the following characters: barbel at corner of large, barely subterminal mouth; moderately pointed snout; large eye; head flattened above and below; dorsal fin origin over or slightly behind pelvic fin origin; complete lateral line, 53-70 lateral scales; 8 anal rays, and pharyngeal teeth 2,4-4,2 (Ref. 86798). Spineless fins, normal jaws, and tiny barbel at the corner of the mouth (Ref. 27547). Body moderately compressed and slender, coloration include brown to green above, dark stripe along silver gray side, darkest on young and large male, sometimes black specks on side and belly, dusky caudal spot. Large male may have red at pectoral and pelvic fin origins, corners of mouth (Ref. 86797). In some populations, breeding males develop bright orange-red patches on sides of head and at bases of pectoral fins, but the presence of this color varies from place to place (Ref. 27547).
Inhabits virtually any body of water, standing or flowing, large or small (Ref. 5723, 86798). Common in gravel-bottomed pools and runs of streams and along rocky lake margins (Ref. 86798). Mostly found in shallow water, but may move to deeper parts of lakes during hot weather (Ref. 27547). Feeds on zooplankton, algae, terrestrial and aquatic insects, and small fishes (Ref. 1998).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Spawning individuals form schools that move from lakes or deeper parts of streams to shallower water (Ref. 27547). Also Ref. 10280.
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 2024-2)
Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 11 November 2011
CITES
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums; bait: occasionally
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |
More information
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
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
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Tools
E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree
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Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01023 (0.00551 - 0.01899), b=3.01 (2.84 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.4 ±0.43 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 3.1 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2-4; tmax=5; K=0.36).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100).