Common name: Northern Hog Sucker

Taxonomy: available through www.itis.gov

Identification: Becker (1983); Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994).

Size: 61 cm.

Native Range: Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins from New York and southern Ontario to Minnesota, and south to northern Alabama, southern Arkansas, and eastern Louisiana; Atlantic Slope drainages from Mohawk-Hudson River, New York, to Altamaha River, northern Georgia; Gulf Slope drainages from Pascagoula River, Mississippi, to Comite River, Louisiana (Page and Burr 1991).

Alaska	Hawaii	Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands	Guam Saipan

Native range data for this species provided in part by NatureServe

Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) Explained
Interactive maps: Point Distribution Maps

Means of Introduction: Probably introduced via bait bucket in Massachusetts (Hartel 1992; Hartel et al. 1996).

Status: Reported from Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.

Impact of Introduction: The impacts of this species are currently unknown, as no studies have been done to determine how it has affected ecosystems in the invaded range. The absence of data does not equate to lack of effects. It does, however, mean that research is required to evaluate effects before conclusions can be made.

Remarks: Etnier and Starnes (1993) and Mettee et al. (1996) mapped the locations of the collections in Tennessee, but neither work lists the species as introduced. Even though Swift et al. (1986) listed this species as introduced into the Black Warrior drainage in Alabama; neither Boschung (1992) nor Mettee et al. (1996) mentioned it in that drainage. Because of its similarity to H. etowanum, specimens south of the Tennessee drainage should be re-examined. If they truly are H. nigricans, their presence in these areas is likely a result of introduction (Gilbert, personal communication). The northern hogsucker may have been introduced into the Chattahoochee drainage where it was recently collected (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Swift et al. 1986; Page and Burr 1991). The collection presumably is in the Georgia portion since no Alabama locations were depicted in Mettee et al. (1996). Yerger (1977) did not list this species in the Chattahoochee drainage.

Voucher specimens: UF 168048; CU 21252 (listed as H. nigricans etowanum).

References: (click for full references)

Boschung, H. T. 1992. Catalogue of freshwater and marine fishes of Alabama. Alabama Museum of Natural History Bulletin 14:1-266.

Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN.

Gilbert, C. R. - Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL.

Hartel, K. E. 1992. Non-native fishes known from Massachusetts freshwaters. Occasional Reports of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Fish Department, Cambridge, MA. 2. September. pp. 1-9.

Hartel, K. E., D. B. Halliwell, and A. E. Launer. 1996. An annotated working list of the inland fishes of Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts, Cambridge, MA (Available from http://www.mcz.harvard.edu/fish/ma_fam.htm. Page accessed March 5, 1998).

Jenkins, R. E., and N. M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.

Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.

Swift, C.C., C.R. Gilbert, S.A. Bortone, G.H. Burgess, and R.W. Yerger. 1986. Zoogeography of the fishes of the southeastern United States: Savannah River to Lake Pontchartrain. 213-266 in C.H. Hocutt and E.O. Wiley, eds. The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.

Walters, D. M. 1997. Theis distribution, status, and ecology of the fishes of the Conasauga River system. Master's Thesis, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Other Resources:

Author: Fuller, P.

Peer Review Date: 3/16/2012

This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.