Largescale sucker (Catostomus macrocheilus)

The largescale sucker is native to the Pacific Northwest, occurring from British Columbia south to Oregon. It occurs in the slower-moving portions of rivers and streams, and in lakes. Largescale suckers spawn in the spring in shallow water over sandy areas of streams or the sandy or small gravel shoals of lakes. Females may produce up to 20,000 adhesive eggs. The young feed upon small zooplankton until they become bottom dwellers. Then they feed on benthic aquatic invertebrates, diatoms, and other plant material. This species reaches a length of 24 inches and 7 pounds in parts of their range, but in Idaho most are less that 16 inches in length. The young probably serve as forage for larger predaceous fishes and fish-eating birds.