Ptychocheilus oregonensis
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Ptychocheilus oregonensis |
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| ( Richardson , 1836) |
Ptychocheilus oregonensis (English Northern Pikeminnow , also Columbia River Dace ) is a medium-sized, predatory carp fish native to North America. In 1999 all four species of the genus Ptychocheilus were renamed from Squawfish to Pikeminnow.
description
Ptychocheilus oregonensis has an elongated spindle-shaped body with an elongated snout and relatively small eyes. The back is green to brown-green and the underside is white to cream-colored. At spawning time, a fine, white, granular spawning rash is often formed on the head. In males, the pectoral and pelvic fins also turn yellow to yellow-orange during sexual maturity. Its fin formula is: dorsal 9–10, anal 8–9. The Northern Pikeminnow usually does not grow taller than 8 inches. In exceptional cases, however, it can reach a length of 63 centimeters. In 2008, a 3.6 kilogram specimen was caught from the Snake River . In the Columbia River and Peace River in British Columbia , Canada , weights of 13 kilograms are also reached. Its age can be up to fifteen years.
distribution and habitat
Ptychocheilus oregonensis is native to rivers on the Canadian and American Pacific coasts. It can be found, for example, in the Nass River , Fraser River , Skeena River , Potlatch River and Peace River (arctic basin) in British Columbia and Alberta / Canada , in the US states of Washington , Oregon (river system of the Harney River, Columbia River, Snake River), Idaho , Montana, and Nevada . The Northern Pikeminnow is common in lakes, ponds and small to large rivers. They like to stay in structured stretches of water such as rocks, edges, deep holes, etc.
Way of life
The Northern Pikeminnow feeds mainly on fish, insects that have fallen into the water, but also plankton, insect larvae and crustaceans. In the bank area the Northern Pikeminnow feeds mainly on insects and in the open water on prey fish. The females become sexually mature after six years, the males after three or five years. A mature female can lay around 30,000 eggs per year. After hatching, the brood is exposed to numerous predators such as the Californian Mühlkoppen (Prickly Sculpin, Cottus asper ) and newts.
use
The Northern Pikeminnow is predominantly a sport fish for predator anglers. It can be used as a food fish, but it is little appreciated. As they feed mainly on salmon fry in the Columbia and Snake Rivers, they are locally considered to be fish predators of game fish species. Their population increased sharply with the construction of hydropower plants in the Columbia River. The Northern Pikeminnow found ideal living conditions in the newly created reservoirs and gave it a survival advantage over Pacific salmon and steelhead rainbow trout . In the states of Washington and Oregon, state fisheries authorities and the Bonneville Power Administration have offered a reward to reduce the pikeminnow population so that the salmonid population can recover. This has sparked fishing tourism in the region.
Web links
- Ptychocheilus oregonensis inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Posted by: NatureServe, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- [1] Michael H. Gessel, Benjamin P. Sandford, Bruce H. Monk, and Dean A. Brege: Population estimates of northern squawfish, Ptychocheilus oregonensis, at Bonneville Dam First Powerhouse, Columbia River
- [2] Taxonomy of Ptychocheilus oregonensis
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Ptychocheilus oregonensis on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ Indian Country Today, Lakota Times (September 14, 1998): Former squawfish hooks new name auf - ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Fishing World Records
- ↑ http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_AFCJB35030.aspx
- ↑ http://www.fishingwithrod.com/fish_profile/northern_pikeminnow.html
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from September 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 2010 Northern Pikeminnow Bounty Program at http://www.pikeminnow.org/
