Ptychocheilus grandis
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Ptychocheilus grandis |
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| ( Ayres , 1854) |
Ptychocheilus grandis ( English Sacramento Pikeminnow or Sacramento Squawfish) is a large predatory carp species that is endemic to California .
description
The fish species has an elongated and streamlined body shape. The back area is dark and changes to copper to green tones on the flanks, the pelvic and anal fins are slightly reddish. The Sacramento Pikeminnow is with an average length of 40 centimeters next to the Colorado Pikeminnow the second largest species of the genus Ptychocheilus. With a maximum lifespan of nine years, it can be up to 140 centimeters long. In 2011, a specimen weighing 4.08 kilograms and 75 cm long was caught in the New Melones Reservoir, and specimens up to 25 kilograms in weight are said to be found in the Russian River and Sacramento River.
Occurrence and habitat
Ptychocheilus grandis is native to the west coast of the USA . The Sacramento Pikeminnow can be found in California's Sacramento River, San Joaquin River , Pajaro-Salinas, Russian River , Clear Lake and the upper Pit River basin. The Pikeminnow prefers rocky or sandy pools in small and large rivers, which have clear and warm water. Its distribution area was originally limited to the California Central Valley and its lowland rivers to rivers in the middle mountain country.
Way of life
The voracious predatory fish shows a pike-like behavior by ambushing prey fish from cover. Young fish of Ptychocheilus grandis up to a length of seven centimeters seek shallow water with sufficient cover and lower current speeds. The nutritional spectrum of the juvenile fish ranges from aquatic insects to crustaceans; they only eat prey fish as they grow in size. Due to strong intraspecific cannibalism, the survival of juvenile fish is closely correlated with the presence of large piceminnovs. Young fish are mainly day predators, while adults shift their hunting behavior to twilight, night and early morning hours. The spawning season takes place from April to May at the outlet of rapids or pools with a gravel bottom . If there is no suitable spawning area in the main stream of the river, the sexually mature fish migrate up the tributaries.
Use
The Sacramento Piceminnow is of little economic value. As a predatory fish, it is often fished. In many waters with game fish such as trout and salmon, the Sacramento Pikeminnow is undesirable as a top predator due to its predatory behavior.
Remarks
- ↑ Übers. Pikeminnow = pike - minnow
- ↑ This name is no longer allowed after protests by native residents of North America because it is discriminatory and politically incorrect; see: JS Nelson, EJ Crossman, H. Espinosa-Pérez, LT Findley, CR Gilbert, RN Lea and JD Williams: Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland 2004, p. 386
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Ptychocheilus grandis on Fishbase
- ^ Fishing World Records
- ↑ a b c d Sacramento Pikeminnow at The Jump
- ^ BC Harvey and RJ Nakamoto: Diet and seasonal movements by adult Sacramento pikeminnows (Ptychocheilus grandis) in the Eel River, northwestern California. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 8, pp. 209–215, 1999 PDF (English)
- ^ Larry R. Brown: Age, Growth, Feeding and Behavior of Sacramento Squawfish (Ptychocheilus grandis) in Bear Creek. The Southwestern Naturalist, 35, 3, pp. 249-260, September 1990 Abstract (English)
Web links
- Ptychocheilus grandis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: NatureServe, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- Distribution map of the Sacramento Pikeminnow at USGS