Source: Wikipedia
| Ptychocheilus Temporal range: Possible Late Eocene occurrence
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| Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Leuciscidae |
| Subfamily: | Laviniinae |
| Genus: | Ptychocheilus Agassiz, 1855 |
| Type species | |
| Ptychocheilus gracilis Agassiz & Pickering, 1855
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| Species | |
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See text | |
Pikeminnows, formerly squawfish, are cyprinid fish of the genus Ptychocheilus consisting of four species native to western North America. Voracious predators, they are considered an "undesirable" species in many waters, largely due to the species' perceived tendency to prey upon small trout and salmon. First known in western science by the common name Columbia River dace, the four species all became lumped under the name "squawfish". In 1999, the American Fisheries Society adopted "pikeminnow" as the name it recommends, because Native Americans consider "squawfish" offensive.[1]
The Colorado pikeminnow, P. lucius, is the largest member of the genus, ranging from 4–9 lb (2–4 kg) in adult fish with occasional specimens up to 25 lb (11 kg). Historical and anecdotal reports of Colorado pikeminnows nearing 6 feet (1.8 m) in length and 80 lb (36 kg) in weight have been made. The species is near extinction in its native Colorado River Basin habitat, due to extensive habitat destruction.
On the Columbia and Snake rivers from approximately May through September anglers are paid for each northern pikeminnow that they catch (from within program boundaries) that is 9 inches (23 cm) or larger in total length, and the more you catch, the higher the reward. Rewards begin at $5 each for the first 25 northern pikeminnow caught during the season. Anglers are paid $6 for each they catch from 26–200 fish, and $8 for every fish caught over 200 cumulatively. Anglers are also paid $500 for each specially tagged northern pikeminnow.[2]
Species
[edit]The four recognized species are:[3]
Two fossil species are also known:[4]Ptychocheilus grandis (Ayres, 1854) Sacramento pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius (Girard, 1856) Colorado pikeminnow Ptychocheilus oregonensis (J. Richardson, 1836) northern pikeminnow Ptychocheilus umpquae (Snyder, 1908) Umpqua pikeminnow
- †Ptychocheilus arciferus Cope, 1870 (Pliocene of Idaho)
- †Ptychocheilus prelucius Uyeno & Miller, 1965 (Late Miocene-aged Bidahochi Formation of Arizona)[5][6]
In addition, the partial fossils of a large minnow with presumed affinities to Ptychocheilus have been recovered from the Late Eocene or Early Oligocene-aged deposits of the Cypress Hills Formation in Saskatchewan.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Nelson, J.S.; Crossman, E.J.; Espinosa-Pérez, H.; Findley, L.T.; Gilbert, C.R.; Lea, R.N.; Williams, J.D. (2004). Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico (Report). AFS Special Publications. Vol. 29. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society.
- ^ "Pikeminnow sport-reward fishery program". wdfw.wa.gov. Olympia, WA: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Ptychocheilus". FishBase. May 2018 version.
- ^ Carney, Douglas A.; Page, Lawrence M. (1990). "Meristic Characteristics and Zoogeography of the Genus Ptychocheilus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)". Copeia. 1990 (1): 171–181. doi:10.2307/1445833. ISSN 0045-8511.
- ^ Uyeno, Teruya; Miller, Robert Rush (1965). "Middle Pliocene Cyprinid Fishes from the Bidahochi Formation, Arizona". Copeia. 1965 (1): 28–41. doi:10.2307/1441236. ISSN 0045-8511.
- ^ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ Divay, Julien D.; Murray, Alison M. (2015-06-23). "The late Eocene–early Oligocene ichthyofauna from the Eastend area of the Cypress Hills Formation, Saskatchewan, Canada". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (4): e956877. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.956877. ISSN 0272-4634.
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