Harelip sucker
Harelip sucker | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Catostomidae |
Genus: | Moxostoma |
Species: | †M. lacerum
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Binomial name | |
†Moxostoma lacerum (D. S. Jordan & Brayton, 1877)
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Synonyms | |
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The harelip sucker (Moxostoma lacerum) was a species of
Description
Two mouth characteristics separate the harelip sucker from all other catostomids: a nonprotractile upper lip and a lower lip that is divided into two distinct lobes. The head is short, accounting for only 20 to 22 percent of the standard length. The dorsal fin has 11 or 12 soft rays, and its free margin is slightly concave. The lateral line is complete and contains 42 to 46 scales. Body colors of freshly caught specimens are described by David Starr Jordan and Alembert Winthrop Brayton (1877) and Jordan (1882). The back is olive to brownish, and the venter and sides are silver or white. The lower fins are slightly orange, while the remaining fins are cream to dusky. The dorsal fin is dusky and edged in black. Although morphologically distinct from one another, this species and the blacktail redhorse in the Mobile basin have similar body colors.[2]
Distribution
The harelip sucker was first collected in 1859 and described in 1877. It spread from the south-east United States to the middle and lower Ohio basin, the
Ecology
Harelip sucker populations came from clear, gravel- or rock-bottomed streams with moderate to swift currents (Jenkins and Burkhead, 1993).[4] The unusual modification of the lips of the harelip sucker suggests that it had a very specialized diet. From the stomachs of preserved specimens scientists have found snails, limpets, fingernail clams, and crustaceans.[2]
Life history
Because of the early extinction of the harelip sucker there are no detailed life history studies, but there is at least some biological information that was taken from the approximately 30 preserved specimens. Very little information exists on its precise habitat and life history, though Klippart (1878) relates that these fish were called May suckers because they spawned in May.[4] The only other thing known about the life history of this fish is that adult harelip sucker reached 18 inches in length and weighed several pounds. Despite the wide range this fish once had it became the first recently extinct fish with the last specimen being retrieved in 1893.[2]
Extinction
The species' extinction is believed to have been caused by human encroachment. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there were no regulations on deforestation or cultivation, and this caused the habitat of the harelip sucker to become very silty. This impeded their feeding because they fed by sight, but it also killed the mollusks and crustaceans which were the harelip sucker's primary prey, leading to starvation.[5]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Les Kaufman, Kenneth Mallory, 1993. The Last Extinction, New England Aquarium Corporation
- ^ Tim M. Berra. 2007. Families and maps, Actinopterygians—Ray-finned fishes
- ^ a b c "Harelip Sucker". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ Fink William L.; Humphries Julian H. 2010. Morphological Description of the Extinct North American Sucker Moxostoma lacerum (Ostariophysi, Catostomidae), Based on High-Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography