Deltistes luxatus

Deltistes luxatus
	Captured Lost River Sucker
Systematics
without rank:	Otophysa
Order :	Carp-like (Cypriniformes)
Subordination :	Catostomoidei
Family :	Suckers (Catostomidae)
Genre :	Deltistes
Type :	Deltistes luxatus
Scientific name
	Deltistes luxatus
	( Cope , 1879)

Lost River Sucker, gills infested with Flavobacterium columnare

Lost River sucker ( engl. Lost River Sucker) is one in North America domestic Saugkarpfenart . It is the only living member of the genus Deltistes and occurs in the US states of California and Oregon . The stock is severely decimated.

distribution and habitat

Suckers are one of the most common fish in California. The distribution of Deltistes luxatus is restricted to the American west coast. The Lost River Sucker is endemic to the Upper Klamath Basin on the border of southern Oregon and northern California. It can be found in the tributaries and lakes of the Klamath such as the Lost River, Tule Lake, Lower Klamath Lake, Sheepy Lake and Clear Lake. Present-day occurrences are limited to Upper Klamath Lake, its tributaries, Clear Lake and its tributaries, Tule Lake, part of the Lost River below Anderson-Rose Dam and above the CopCo Reservoir. It prefers fast flowing waters as well as in the confluence area of oxygen-rich, deep ponds and lakes with water temperatures of 16 to 24 ° C as a habitat. Oxygen levels below 1.58 mg / l, pH levels above 10 and water temperatures above 31 ° C can be fatal for delistes luxatus .

description

The Lost River Sucker is one of the larger sucker carp and can be up to one meter long. The long mouth and the small hump on the top are characteristic. The mouth is subordinate and it has gullet teeth. The back is dark and the sides lighter in color, the belly area can be white or yellowish in color. Delistes luxatus can live up to 40 years of age and does not reach sexual maturity until between the ages of nine and fourteen.

Way of life

The Lost River Sucker forms swarms in February and April and spawns in rapids or other rapidly flowing bodies of water with a stone or gravel bottom. The Rogner can lay up to 235,000 eggs. Larvae hatch after 40–50 days. The young fish seek protection from predatory fish in the vegetation near the shore. The Lost River Sucker feeds on detritus , animal material, zooplankton , invertebrates and periphyton on the bottom . The animals grow relatively quickly. Within five to six years they can be 35 to 50 centimeters long. In Clear Lake (Modoc County) Delistes luxatus is found in deeper water areas during the winter months and spreads over the entire lake area in summer.

Economical meaning

For the indigenous population such as the Klamath and Modoc Indians , the Lost River Sucker was an important staple food as a very common fish. Later settlers used it as fodder. It was processed into canned fish and oil in a canning factory.

Endangerment status

The occurrence of the Lost River Sucker fell sharply with the construction of the dam and the associated fragmentation of the habitat , as isolated populations emerged and waters are no longer passable for spawning migrations. Other anthropogenic influences, such as straightening rivers, draining swamps, taking land for agricultural purposes , deforestation , removing vegetation on the banks, eutrophication through phosphate fertilizers , algal blooms through cyanobacteria , irrigation channels as natural traps, the introduction of foreign fish species, left the population of Deltistes luxatus are shrinking strongly and are responsible for the fact that the populations have not yet recovered. Pathogens such as gill rot ( Flavobacterium columnare ) weaken the remaining fish population.