IntroductionNCR

This work is a guide to the fishes found in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Canada, a region encompassed by a circle of 50 km radius centred on the Peace Tower of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, extending into Ontario and Québec. An earlier work by Coad and McAllister (1975) is now dated and requires a revision.

This site is being actively worked on as more localities are surveyed for fish distributions, photographs and illustrations are made and added, and new and old literature sources are incorporated in the text and analysed for mapping. Most illustrations are of fishes and localities from within the NCR although some are from other sources, as noted when a cursor is placed over them.

Maps can be clicked on to show a larger version with caption details.

Species Accounts

Petromyzontidae - Lampreys - Lamproies

Lampreys are found in cooler waters of the northern and southern hemispheres. There are 41 species with 11 recorded from Canadian freshwaters and along all three coasts. There are 4 species in the NCR.

Lampreys are jawless fishes, lacking bone in the skeleton and having 7 pairs of pore-like gill openings. The eel-like body has no pectoral or pelvic fins. There are 1 or 2 dorsal fins and a caudal fin. An anal fin-like fold develops in spawning females. Eyes are large. The mouth is a suctorial disc armed with rows of horny teeth. There are also teeth on the tongue. The median nostril, or nasohypophyseal opening, is not connected to the mouth. There is a light-sensitive pineal organ or "third eye" behind the nostril. The skin is covered in mucus which is poisonous to fishes and humans. Lampreys are edible if the mucus is cleaned off. Lampreys have a body form similar to the more familiar but unrelated eels (Anguillidae). Occasionally there are references in articles to lamprey-eels, but there is no such fish; there are lampreys and there are eels, quite distinctive organisms.

Their origins lie at least 300 million years in the past. Their tooth arrangement is used in classification and identification along with the number of myomeres (muscle blocks along the body). Both tooth counts and the number of cusps are used in particular those on the supraoral lamina (bar above the "mouth", the oesophageal opening), the infraoral lamina (bar below the "mouth") and the row of teeth on both sides of the "mouth". There are various series of smaller teeth and of course teeth on the tongue. Larval lampreys lack teeth and are particularly difficult to identify and their determination often requires specialist knowledge. Characters for the larvae include counts of myomeres and pigmentation patterns.

Lampreys have an unusual life cycle. Adults die after spawning and the eggs develop into a larva, known as an ammocoete, which lacks teeth, has an oral hood, eyes covered by skin, a light-sensitive area near the tail, and is a filter-feeder while buried in mud and silt. Fleshy tentacles in the oral hood are used to extract minute organisms from the water, such as algae (desmids and diatoms) and protozoans. After several years (up to 19 but usually 7 or less), the ammocoete transforms into an adult with enlarged eyes, teeth, a different colour and pronounced dorsal fins. The body shrinks during this metamorphosis and adults are only larger than ammocoetes if they feed. The adult may be a parasite on other fishes and marine mammals, or non-feeding. Individuals of a species may or may not be parasitic and different species may be parasitic or non-parasitic. The non-parasitic species are believed to have evolved from a parasitic species so there tends to be closely related parasitic/non-parasitic species pairs.

Parasitic adults feed mostly on other fishes, attaching to their bodies by suction and using their toothed tongue to rasp through the skin and scales to take blood and tissue fragments. Prey is detected by sight but some lampreys attach to hosts during the night. Perhaps this reduces their own predation risks and enables them to approach their quiescent hosts more easily. Lampreys tend to select larger fish as these survive longer and ensure a good food supply. The flow of blood is aided by an anti-coagulant in lamprey saliva called lamphedrin which also serves to break down muscle tissue. Large, anadromous lampreys are usually attached ventrally near the pectoral fins while small, freshwater species, such as the Chestnut Lamprey and the Silver Lamprey, are usually attached dorsally. Dorsal attachment reduces abrasion of the lamprey in shallow water. Ventral attachment results in greater food intake for the lamprey. Lamprey attacks leave a characteristic round scar and can be a major problem for commercial fisheries by damaging food species and leaving them too unsightly to market. The attack may weaken or even kill the host. Weakened fishes are more prone to diseases and the wound provides an easy path of entry for them. Even fishes with heavy scales like Gar Family members are attacked. A single 16 kg Lake Sturgeon has been recorded with 61 Silver Lampreys parasitising it, although it was estimated that this would not kill the host by draining its blood.

Lampreys may move into or up streams to spawn. The scientific name of the family means "stone sucker" and the adult mouth is used to hold or suck onto stones as well as on prey. This suction enables the lamprey to maintain position in fast-flowing streams when spawning and even to climb over rapids and small waterfalls. Usually spawning occurs in shallow water with a moderate current, a bottom of gravel and nearby sand and silt for the ammocoetes to live in. Either or both sexes build a nest by moving gravel around with their sucking mouths and by thrashing their bodies. A shallow depression is formed, about 0.5-1 metre long. Spawning often occurs in groups and several males may attach to a female with the sucking disc. The process takes several days as only a few white to yellow eggs are laid at a time. The eggs are adhesive.

Adult lampreys are usually caught when attached to a host or when spawning. Electro-shocking will force ammocoetes out of their u-shaped burrows to the surface and immobilise adults. They sometimes attach to boats and occasionally to swimmers when their skin is cool but are easily removed, perhaps because nobody has left a lamprey on their skin long enough to see if the tongue starts rasping flesh!

Lampreys have been used for food by various native peoples in Canada and are popular in Japan. They have been considered a delicacy and can be smoked, set in aspic or cooked in a variety of ways. Henry I of England is said to have died of a "surfeit of lampreys".

Chestnut Lamprey / Lamproie brun
Ichthyomyzon castaneus Girard, 1858

Taxonomy

Other common names include Western, Northern, Silver, and Brown Lamprey, Hitchhiker, Seven-eyed Cat and Bloodsucker. Ichthyomyzon is from the Greek ichthys for "fish" and myzon for "sucking" and castaneus is Latin for "chestnut-coloured".

Key Characters

This lamprey is distinguished by having a single, notched dorsal fin, by having 1 or more lateral disc teeth with 2 cusps (1-10 bicuspid circumorals, usually 6).

Description

There are 47-57 trunk myomeres, usually 51-54. Teeth are sharp, strong and curved. The band of teeth below the mouth is a broad, curved bar with 6-11 tooth cusps. There are 4 pairs of inner lateral teeth, usually bicuspid and sometimes tricuspid.

Colour

Adults are dark grey to olive, or yellow-brown, sometimes mottled, occasionally a chestnut colour which gives them their name. The lateral line organs are black in adults, though only weakly in young adults. They become blue-black when spawning. Ammocoetes are overall lighter in colour. Ammocoetes are paler and have no pigment, or are only weakly pigmented, on the lateral line organs.

Size

Attains 38.0 cm.

Distribution

Found in central North America from southeastern Saskatchewan, west-central Manitoba and eastern Lake Huron tributaries of Ontario south to the Gulf of Mexico centred on the Mississippi-Missouri basin.

Origin

This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium.

Habitat

Found mostly in medium-sized streams although adults may be found in large rivers and dams. Ammocoetes prefer vegetated areas with current unlike other species.

Age and Growth

Ammocoete life span is unknown, but is presumed to be 5-7 years with a maximum age for the species of about 8 years.

Food

Transformed adults do not feed over their first, and one subsequent, winter and feed most heavily from April to October. They spawn and die the following summer. This species has been caught attached to a Lake Sturgeon or a Northern Pike in Brewery Creek in the NCR (the data were uncertain), most probably the latter given the locality (Renaud and de Ville, 2000). The eggs of this lamprey are eaten by darters, minnows and crayfishes.

Reproduction

Peak spawning is in early to mid-June at 15.6-22.2°C in Michigan and takes place at night in small to large groups (up to 50). A female attaches to a stone and begins rapid quivering motions. A male attaches to the head of the female and wraps its tail around her body. Up to 5 lampreys can attach, each to the head of the one before it. Up to 50 lampreys can be found in a single nest as nests tend to merge during excavation. The nest sites are in small streams. A single nest can be 2.8 m long and 1 m wide. The spawning continues through the night but by the afternoon of the following day, lampreys have left the nest. A large female had 42,000 eggs. Eggs are elliptical, 0.64 mm by 0.56 mm.

Importance

This lamprey was accorded a status of "vulnerable", now "Special Concern", in 1991 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. It is not as economically significant as the Silver Lamprey because of its habitat, size, abundance and distribution in Canada. Elsewhere it is known to attack Brook Trout and can stay attached for over 18 days, killing the host. Trout destruction has been reported as reaching 23.5 kg/ha or about one-third of the trout available to anglers. They are a favoured food of Burbot and trouts as well as other fishes.

Northern Brook Lamprey / Lamproie du nord
Ichthyomyzon fossor Reighard and Cummins, 1916

Taxonomy

Other common names include Michigan Brook Lamprey and Blood Sucker.

Key Characters

This species is distinguished from other Canadian lampreys by having a single dorsal fin, teeth along the side of the mouth with 1 cusp, 2 knob-like and blunt cusps on the bar above the mouth, 6-11 knob-like and blunt cusps on the bar below the mouth, and lateral lines organs unpigmented.

Description

Trunk myomeres number 47-58, usually 51-54. The sucking disc is narrower than the body.

Colour

Adults are dark slate grey to brown above, pale grey, silvery or white on the belly. The area under the gill pores may be orange. Fins are grey to yellow or brown. The eye is bluish. Lateral line organs lack black colouration. In ammocoetes, the caudal fin and head are weakly pigmented.

Size

Attains 28.2 cm and 9.9 g.

Distribution

Found in the Hudson Bay drainage of Manitoba, the Great Lakes basin of Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River basin in Québec south to Kentucky and Missouri. The presence of this species in the NCR is uncertain (Coad, 1986b). Adults are not easily caught with nets because of their elongate shape and, being non-parasitic, cannot be found attached to fish. Ammocoetes can be caught in mud or sand by electroshocking but are very difficult to identify and distinguish from the Silver Lamprey. Spawning adults would be readily identifiable but attempts to catch them have failed as spawning takes place in early spring when water levels are high, conditions are difficult of access in flooded areas of uncertain depth. Lanteigne (1981; 1992) mapped the Northern Brook Lamprey at Ottawa but Rohde and Lanteigne in Lee et al., (1980) did not.

Origin

This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium (Mandrak and Crossman, 1992).

Habitat

This is a non-parasitic species found in warmer streams and smaller rivers than the American Brook Lamprey or along the margins of larger rivers. It is reported as common in turbid streams. Ammocoetes prefer a soft bottom over firm sand but not the extremely soft mud of backwaters. They are most numerous at 15-61 cm depths. They move only if their habitat is disturbed or food becomes short. This movement takes place mostly at night when predators are less active. Low fertility and relatively low mobility as a non-parasitic species make it vulnerable to natural and man-made habitat changes.

Age and Growth

Ammocoetes live 5-7 years and may "rest" for a year without feeding before transformation to the adult in August to September. Maximum life span is about 8 years.

Food

Ammocoetes filter feed on desmids, diatoms and protozoans. Food may also be taken from the sediment. The gut degenerates at the beginning of transformation from ammocoete to adult and for a period of 8-9 months no food is taken. Various predatory fish will take ammocoetes and spawning adults on nests are most vulnerable.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs from late May to mid-June at 12.8-23.3°C in Michigan without a migration. The nest is constructed among large stones or gravel to create a cavity. Unusual vertical body movements, and transport of gravel using the sucking disc, excavate a 10 cm long nest. Up to about 2,000 eggs of 1.0-1.2 mm diameter are produced and adhere to silt-free sand. Incubation takes 9 days at 18°C. The post-spawning period lasts only a few days and then all the spawning adults die.

Importance

Ammocoetes have been sold as bait in Quebec but this now prohibited. This species was accorded the status of "Special Concern" in 1991 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (Lanteigne, 1992; COSEWIC, 2002).

Silver Lamprey / Lamproie argentée
Ichthyomyzon unicuspis Hubbs and Trautman, 1937

Ichthyomyzon unicuspis, courtesy of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Ichthyomyzon unicuspis and scars on Esox masquinongy, Ontario, Ottawa River offshore from L'Orignal Bay,
October 1997. Photo: Courtesy of Claude B. Renaud.

Taxonomy

Other common names include Northern Lamprey and Brook Lamprey. The Northern Brook Lamprey is its non-parasitic relative.

Key Characters

This species is distinguished by having a single dorsal fin, all teeth along the sides of the mouth with 1 cusp, (0-2 bicuspid circumorals, usually none), a sharp bicuspid tooth on the bar above the mouth, and 5-11 sharp, triangular cusps on the bar below the mouth.

Description

Teeth are sharp and yellow. Trunk myomeres number 47-57, usually 49-52. The sucking disc is wider than the body.

Colour

Adults are brown, blue-grey or bluish with silvery overtones and with a blue-grey or silver belly. Lateral line organs are black in specimens greater than 150 mm length. Adults become darker as the spawning season approaches and are blue-back near the end of spawning. Ammocoetes are pale although the caudal fin and head are strongly pigmented.

Size

Attains 38.1 cm.

Distribution

Found from Manitoba, through southern Ontario around the Great Lakes to western Québec and as far south rarely to Mississippi. In the NCR this species is known only from the Ottawa River and mouths of tributary rivers. Small (1883) reports Icthyomyzon Argenteus (sic) (= I. unicuspis) from the "Rideau, Gatineau, the Lievres, and streams running into these rivers" but this has not been borne out by field work since then

Origin

Silver Lampreys entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium.

Habitat

This is a parasitic species found in the larger rivers and lakes. Ammocoetes live in burrows in soft bottoms.

Age and Growth

Ammocoetes live 4-7 years before beginning transformation in late fall. Adults live 12-20 months and may migrate to a lake to feed. Females grow faster than males and attain a larger size.

Food

Ammocoetes filter-feed phytoplankton and other small organisms from the water. Adults are parasites on Lake Sturgeons, Brown Bullheads, American Eels, White Suckers, Silver Redhorses and Shorthead Redhorses (McAllister and Coad, 1975), on Northern Pike (attached to the inside of the branchial cavity of one pike, C. B. Renaud, pers. comm., 2002) and on Muskellunge (Renaud, 2003) in the NCR. Marks per host based on 15 Muskellunge from the Ottawa River from Ottawa to Hawkesbury varied between 1 and 31, with a mean of 10.6. 84.6% of the Muskellunge had marks on the dorsal surface, 46.2% laterally and 15.4% ventrally. The position of attachment was thought to be a consequence of the predatory behaviour of the Muskellunge, lying in concealment with the belly less exposed than in pelagic species, and perhaps to avoid detachment or injury by abrasion on the substrate. The wounds on the Muskellunge suggest blood feeding as they were shallow, rather than flesh feeding. The lampreys fed actively from at least 21 June to 30 October when captures with fresh marks were made.

Reproduction

Both sexes construct the nest in gravel in running water. Spawning occurs in May-June, peaking in early June, at 12.8-22.8°C in Michigan. Up to 65,000 eggs of 1.0 mm diameter may be produced. The eggs hatch after 7-10 days, depending on water temperature.

Importance

The ammocoetes are used as bait for sport fish.

American Brook Lamprey / Lamproie de l'est
Lampetra appendix (DeKay, 1842)

Lampetra appendix, ammocoete, Riviere Rouge, Quebec, 12 June 2006.
Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Lampetra appendix, ammocoete, Riviere Rouge, Quebec, 12 June 2006. Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Taxonomy

Also called Brook Lamprey or Small Black Brook Lamprey. Scientific names used in other works that may be this species are Lampetra lamottenii Le Sueur, 1827 and Lampetra wilderi Jordan and Evermann, 1896. The former name has priority but there is some confusion over Le Sueur's application of this name and L. appendix is the next available name. Lampetra is from the Mediaeval Latin for "lamprey" and appendix is Latin for "appendage", probably referring to the prominent urogenital papilla of adult males.

Key Characters

This species is distinguished by having 2 dorsal fins, the bar above the mouth with 2-3 pointed cusps, and teeth along each side of the mouth bicuspid and pointed.

Description

Trunk myomeres number 63-74. The bar below the mouth has 6-10 cusps. Teeth are generally blunt and not as sharp as in the parasitic Silver Lamprey. Shrinkage of adults over winter from non-feeding almost closes the gap between the dorsal fins.

Colour

Adults are blue-grey when spawning with orange tinges on the head, back, tail and fins. Otherwise brown or lead-grey is the overall colour, the belly is white to light grey or silvery and clearly set off from the flanks. Fins are yellowish with the caudal fin darkest near the base, becoming lighter towards the margin. Ammocoetes are pale brown and have a whitish band above the branchial openings.

Size

Attains 31.7 cm (perhaps 35 cm) but these were "giants" which may have fed parasitically. Usually up to about 21.7 cm.

Distribution

This species is found from the Great Lakes basin of Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence River basin in Québec southwards to Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.

Origin

This lamprey entered the NCR from possibly a Mississippian refugium or Atlantic coastal refugium (Mandrak and Crossman, 1992).

Habitat

This is a non-parasitic species found in cooler (9-12°C) small streams and rivers than the Northern Brook Lamprey. It is sensitive to environmental change and prefers water that is clean and free of silt. Around Kettle Island and Upper and Lower Duck Islands in the large Ottawa River it is found unusually in sandy areas at 13-25°C (Lanteigne et al., 1981). It does not migrate.

Age and Growth

Ammocoetes live 4-6 years (perhaps 7.5 years) and transformation begins in the fall and continues over winter. The adult shrinks without food from parasitism.

Food

Adults do not usually feed and ammocoetes filter fine particles from the water.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in mid-May to early June in Québec at 17°C and in Ontario in April-May. In Minnesota it occurs during late April and early May at 8.7-15.5°C. In Delaware spawning occurs in March-April at 6.8-12.0°C and in Michigan at 6.7-20.6°C in early May. Nests up to 30 cm long are built to a depth of 4 cm below the stream bottom. Current velocity in a Minnesota study was 14 cm s^-1. The male begins construction and the oval to circular nests are in gravel and cobble between larger rocks or just upstream of riffles. Up to 25 lampreys may spawn in one nest with 5 times as many males present as females. The male uses his sucker to attach to the female's head, arching his body to bring his cloacal region close to the female's. Nests tend to be larger in deeper water, slower current and where larger spawning groups are found. Up to 5185 pale yellow to light green eggs about 1.2 mm in diameter are produced by each female. The eggs hatch in 9 days at 68°F.

Importance

Ammocoetes have been sold as bait for sport fish in Québec but this is no longer permitted.

Acipenseridae - Sturgeons - Esturgeons

Sturgeons are found in fresh and coastal waters around the Northern Hemisphere. There are 24 species with 5 occurring in Canada and 1 in the NCR. This family contains the largest freshwater fishes and life span is reported to exceed 150 years although fish of great size are difficult to age accurately. Some species live entirely in fresh water while others are anadromous, spending some time in the sea but returning to fresh water to spawn. The NCR species spends all its life in fresh water. Sturgeon roe or eggs are known as caviar and form an expensive delicacy. The flesh is also eaten, and is tasty when smoked. The swimbladders of sturgeons have been converted to isinglass, a transparent gelatin used in a variety of products including as a wine and beer clarifier and in jams and jellies. The total Canadian catch of sturgeons in 1988 was 53 tonnes. Their migratory habits have made them victims of pollution and hydroelectric schemes and sturgeons are no longer as large nor as numerous as in the past. Slow growth makes them susceptible to overfishing. Fossils extend back 100 million years and related but extinct families to 310 million years ago.

Lake Sturgeon / Esturgeon jaune
Acipenser fulvescens Rafinesque, 1817

Acipenser fulvescens, courtesy of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Acipenser fulvescens held by Tim Haxton, 117.5 cm total length, Ottawa River at Chats Falls Generating Station, 14 June 2004.
Photo: Brian W. Coad. Acipenser fulvescens, 116.9 cm total length, Ottawa River at Chats Falls Generating Station, 14 June 2004. Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Acipenser fulvescens, 117.5 cm total length, Ottawa River at Chats Falls Generating Station, 14 June 2004. Photo: Brian W. Coad. Acipenser fulvescens, 116.9 cm total length, Ottawa River at Chats Falls Generating Station, 14 June 2004. Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Taxonomy

Other common name include Freshwater, Common, Great Lakes, Red, Ruddy, Black, Rock, Stone, Dogface, Shellback or Bony Sturgeon, Smoothback, Rubber Nose, Esturgeon de lac and Camus; or for young - Escargot, Maillé and Charbonnier. Acipenser is from the Latin for "sturgeon" and fulvescens means "brownish".

Key Characters

This species is unique in having 5 rows of bony scutes or plates along the body, (1 dorsal, 2 lateral and 2 ventrolateral), 4 barbels in front of the transverse mouth under an elongate snout, no teeth in adults, and an upturned caudal fin skeleton (heterocercal) such that the upper tail lobe is larger than the lower.

Description

Dorsal fin rays 35-40, anal fin rays 25-30, dorsal plates 8-17, lateral plates 29-43, ventral plates 6-12, 1 large plate between the caudal fin and the anal fin in addition to the fulcrum (a flat bony plate), and 25-40 gill rakers. The scutes may almost disappear in old sturgeons but are sharp and obvious in young. The skeleton is cartilaginous, there is a spiracle and a spiral intestinal valve.

Colour

Back and upper flank dark brown, olive-green or grey and belly white to yellow-white. Flanks may be reddish. Fins are dark brown or grey. Body cavity organs are black but the peritoneum is silvery and only slightly pigmented. Specimens smaller than 30 cm have 2 black blotches on the upper snout, a black blotch between the dorsal and lateral plates above the pectoral fin base and another similarly positioned below the dorsal fin, and smaller spots on much of the rest of the head and body. Lower parts of the body are greenish.

Size

Reaches an estimated 312.0 cm and 184.57 kg, the largest freshwater fish in North America. The world, all-tackle angling record wa recognised as a 41.84 kg fish caught in the Kettle River, Minnesota in 1986 although much larger fish have been caught on rod and line. The Ontario record as of the year 2000 from Georgian Bay weighed 76.2 kg and is the International Game Fish Association Record (1999). The fish was caught in 1982. Newspaper records of large sturgeons caught in the Ottawa River are reprinted in Szabo (2004) and listed here. One fish snagged in Lac Deschênes had a sleigh harness entangled around its gills, apparently lost ten years before when a horse fell through the ice (Pembroke Observer, 7 June 1901, p. 1). Catches in the Ottawa River include a 5' 3", 85 lb one caught between Aylmer and Ottawa (Toronto Star, 22 May 1908, p. 1), a 5'4", 100 lb one caught illegally - the fisherman was fined (Globe and Mail, 2 November 1921), a 5'6" (1.65 m), 175 lb (79.5 kg) one from Lac Deschênes that had to be towed 2 miles to shore to be landed (Globe and Mail, 17 May 1927, p. 1; Harkness and Dymond (1961); McAllister and Coad (1975)), a 217 lb (98.5 kg) one from near Montebello that either bit or swiped the angler on landing (Globe and Mail, 26 March 1931, p 1; Toronto Star, 26 March 1931, p. 6; Butler, 2006; Harkness and Dymond (1961); Egan (2000)), a 5', 75 lb one caught with a minnow net (Toronto Star, 3 July 1939, p. 26), a 4' one caught by its tail from a ferry between Rockliffe and Gatineau Point (Toronto Star, 8 June 1949, p. 48), a 60 lb one that leaped out of the water at Rockliffe boathouse (Toronto Star, 19 August 1949, p. 1), a 3', 15 lb one that jumped into a boat - it apparently was trying to rub leeches of its body on the side of the boat (Toronto Star, 2 July 1953, p. 10), a 51.5", 45 lb one near Orleans (Globe and Mail, 23 June 1962, p. 4), and a 5'10" (1.8 m), 107 lb (48.6 kg) one from the Deschênes Rapids (Ottawa Citizen, 7 July 1972, p. 3; Cote (1972); Leggett (1975)).

Distribution

Found from western Québec including James Bay, all of Ontario and most of Manitoba and westward in the North Saskatchewan River to Alberta. South to Alabama, northern Mississippi and Arkansas west of the Appalachian Mountains. In the NCR it is restricted to the Ottawa River and mouths of tributaries.

Origin

This species colonised the NCR from a Mississippian refugium (Guénette et al., 1993; Ferguson and Duckworth, 1997).

Habitat

Lake Sturgeon are found in shallow areas of lakes and large rivers at about 4-9 m although they may descend to 43 m. These shallow areas are the highly productive shoals where food items are most available. Mostly the bottom is mud. Older fish tend to be in deeper waters and all age groups move away from shallower waters in summer to return in fall, presumably in response to temperature and oxygen changes. They are not usually found in water over 23.8°C and prefer waters at 15-17°C. Occasionally sturgeon are reported to jump and can end up in boats (Harkness and Dymond, 1961; Egan, 2000; 2003). A 50 lb (22.7 kg) sturgeon 58 inches (1.47 m) long leaped out of the water and landed in a rowboat crewed by two girls on the Ottawa River. Sturgeon are quiet tough and can survive several hours out of water and are relatively easy to tag, spine clip and weigh and measure in mark-recapture studies when water and air temperatures are cool.

Age and Growth

Accurate age determination is difficult in long-lived species like sturgeons. Maximum female age is estimated to be 96 years and for males 55 years. There is a report of one fish aged at 154 years from Lake of the Woods. Growth is slower in the north than the south and fish are older. Maturity has been estimated at 8-20 years for males and 14-33 for females, varying with locality. St. Lawrence River female sturgeon reach sexual maturity at an estimated 27 years and 1.33 m and the mean interval between spawnings is 9.4-9.7 years, higher than reports for other populations.

Ottawa River fish mature at 19-20 years and 30 inches (76.2 cm) for males and 26 years and 33 inches (83.8 cm) for females with few males exceeding 45-50 years and females living longer (Harkness and Dymond, 1961). In the Hull-Carillon section of the Ottawa River, 94% of the sturgeon caught in a 1988 study were less than 27 years old (the mean age of first maturity of females) and the species here is not very abundant nor as old, long or heavy as compared to those in the St. Lawrence River (Fournier, 1988; Fortin et al., 1992). Haxton (2002) sampled sturgeons in the Ottawa River over a 5-year period (1997-2001). Three of his areas fall within the NCR - Lac des Chats (above the Chats Falls Dam, mostly upriver of the NCR, sampled 1998), Lac Deschênes (Chats Falls Dam to Chaudière Falls, wholly within the NCR, sampled in 2000) and Lac Dollard des Ormeaux (below the Chaudière Falls to the Carillon Dam, much of it within the NCR, sampled in 2001). Eleven sturgeon were taken in Lac des Chats, none in Lac Deschênes, and 42 in Lac Dollard des Ormeaux. Sturgeon were more abundant in some sections higher up the Ottawa River outside the NCR. The mean total length for Lac des Chats sturgeon was 109.9 cm and mean weight was 8450 g. The mean total length for Lac Dollard des Ormeaux sturgeon was 78.7 cm and mean weight was 2039 g. The latter population showed some signs of recruitment despite being downriver of the NCR. The sex ratio is about 1:1 at birth but by age 40 years it is 6:1 in favour of females. Garvey (2001) found only 8 sturgeon in the disturbed Lac Deschenes over 298.21 hours of fishing compared to 117 fish over 152 hours in the undisturbed Lower Allumette, upriver. Mean total length for Lac Deschenes fish was 121 cm and mean weight was 10.39 kg.

A comparison of the spawning population below the Chats Generating Station was made for sample years 2001-2004 and the study of Dubreuil and Cuerrier (1950) for 1949 fish by Haxton (2006). The spawning stock in 2003 was estimated to be 202 fish, mean size was greater (118.0 cm total length for 2001-2004 compared to 101.7 cm in 1949), weight-length relationships did not vary between studies, and fish less than 110 cm total length comprised only 31.1% of the sample compared to a majority of 69.9% in 1949. This latter observation suggest the population is suffering a recruitment problem. Recruitment did occur because fish were aged at 13 to 46 years, and therefore were not relicts of the pre-1949 population. Ages in the 1949 survey were 15-62 years. Interestingly only males were found in spawning condition, suggesting spawning females could be rare in this section (Lac Deschênes) of the Ottawa River enclosed by dams at Chats and Ottawa.

Haxton (2008) summarises knowledge of sturgeon in the Ottawa River and found the greatest abundance in unimpounded river reaches, a condition found outside the NCR. The von Bertalanffy growth equation for Ottawa River fish was L_t = 133.7(1-exp^{-0.058(t-(-3))}) and condition was described by w = 5.6 x 10^-4l^3.50. Length and age at 50% maturity was 106.7 cm and 20.4 years fro males and 112.2 cm and 25.4 years for females Fecundity was estimated at 12,170 eggs/kg. Annual mortality was estimated at 15%.

Food

Food is slurped from bottom sediments and includes a wide variety of animal and plant material found in and on the bottom. Sediment is also taken in and ejected from the gill slits or the mouth. The food is detected by the barbels which lightly touch the bottom as the sturgeon swims slowly along. The tubular mouth is protruded as soon as food is detected. Recorded food items are crayfish, other crustaceans, clams, snails, aquatic insects, fish eggs (such as those of Yellow Perch), algae and rarely fish. It is not considered to be a serious predator on the eggs of other fishes. Sturgeon may leap out of the water, a habit attributed to efforts to rid themselves of parasitic lampreys. 61 Silver Lampreys have been recorded on a single Lake Sturgeon, 1.3 m long and 16 kg in weight, caught in the St. Lawrence River, although these were not considered to be enough to kill the sturgeon.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in April to June at 9-18°C in flowing water or rocky lake margins with wave action. In the Ottawa River at the Fitzroy-Quyon Rapids in 1949 the period was 29 May to 6 June at 56-60°F (10.0-15.6°C) (Harkness and Dymond, 1961). Sturgeon also spawn downstream from Chaudière Falls below Victoria Island in the heart of Ottawa (Haxton and Chubbock, 2002). Peak spawning in Lac des Chats was 12 June in 2006 and 5-15 June in 2007, and in Lac Deschênes was 4-8 June 2001, 4-12 June in 2003 and 8-14 June in 2004. Depths are usually 0.6-4.7 m for spawning generally. Lake populations may migrate up rivers for 400 km to reach spawning grounds although the distance traveled is usually less and fish are generally sedentary outside spawning. Males arrive first on the spawning grounds. The large female is in spawning condition for a short time and is flanked by up to 6 males. The spawning process may involve splashing, vibrations and leaps clear of the water. Eggs and sperm are shed at intervals over a few days and the eggs adhere to rocks. The spawning act lasts only 5 seconds. The eggs are black, up to 3.5 mm in diameter and in very large fish could exceed 3 million. Ottawa River fish produced up to 7179 eggs per pound of fish (Harkness and Dymond, 1961) or 54,000 eggs per kilogramme of ovary (Dubreuil and Cuerrier, 1950). Incubation lasts 5-8 days at 15.6-17.8°C. Spawning occurs at estimated intervals of 1-7 years in males and 4-9 years in females, with longer intervals in the north.

Importance

This species has been used historically for food fresh or smoked, the eggs as caviar, the swimbladder as isinglass (a form of gelatin) and skin as leather. Oil from sturgeon in the Ottawa River has been used by native peoples, mixed with ochre, to delimit pictographs at Oiseau Rock in western Pontiac County, Québec (www.cycloparcppj.org/oiseau/rocheroiseau_a.htm, downloaded 18 April 2005). Haxton (2002) reviews literature that show this species was abundant in the Ottawa River before 1900 and was harvested for food by aboriginal people (see also Gaffield (1997)). Dymond (1939) records catches from 1881 onward in the general vicinity of the NCR but trends cannot be determined as fisheries data is recorded from different areas at different dates. For example, in 1898 the catch was 63,450 lbs (28,806 kg) in the Ottawa River from Carillon to Pontiac in Québec, the highest recorded. Harkness and Dymond (1961) report past commercial fisheries in the Ottawa River and its lake-like expansions, and the Madawaska River and the Mississippi River and Lake (now absent from the latter two river basins). Commercial fisheries for sturgeons above and below Hull from the Québec side of the Ottawa River is documented by Pluritec (1982b). Fournier (1988) estimated that the fishery in the Hull-Carillon section of the Ottawa River yielded 0.7 kg/ha; Fortin et al. (1992) reporting a catch of about 10 tonnes by three fishermen in this sector. 94% of the catch was less than 27 years old, the age at which more than half the fish are mature. The section of river above Hull contained older fish and exploitation was less strong. The population was overexploited. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and Gouvernement du Québec Faune et Parcs (1999) report that a strictly controlled tag and quota system was to be implemented on the Ottawa River to ensure a sustainable harvest rate of 0.1 kg/ha/yr. Ontario fishermen are prohibited from harvesting sturgeon. Séguin (1970) mentions a request to open a commercial fishery on the Gatineau River but this apparently never developed.

Egan (2000) records a commercial harvest of this sturgeon on the Ottawa River as early as 1883 although this is from areas upriver of the NCR near Renfrew and Rolphton. The sturgeon were caught on longlines left overnight. the flesh was smoked, an oil and isinglass extracted, and caviar taken. Gutted sturgeon were sent in dry ice to New York City in the early 1950s and the roe was sent to a packer in North Bay. Today, although commercial fishing for this species is not allowed in the NCR the value of caviar elsewhere is $200/kg and flesh is $40/kg, and by 2006 $400/kg (Butler, 2006). The caviar is reputedly second only to that of Caspian Sea sturgeons.

Dams, pollution and overfishing have reduced populations in Canada. Populations in the Ottawa River were reduced by dam construction which blocks spawning, nursery and feeding migrations, fragments populations and alters habitats, by land clearance for agriculture and logging, by pollution from saw mills and untreated sewage, and by intensive commercial fishing at least in the past (Guénette et al., 1993; Ferguson and Duckworth, 1997; Haxton, 2002; Haxton and Findlay, 2008). Even blasting for a marina on the Ottawa River killed sturgeons around 1970. The Lac Dollards des Ormeaux stretch of the Ottawa River was closed to fishing for sturgeon in 1990 because of a decline in abundance and high contaminant levels (Haxton and Chubbock, 2002).

88,287 kg were caught in 1961 in Canadian waters but the Lake Erie catch alone in the late nineteenth century exceeded 2,268,000 kg. In the Québec portion of the St. Lawrence River commercial yields are very high, up to 3.4 kg/ha with 138.8 tonnes being taken in 1986. These stocks have been over-exploited. They are caught with gill nets, longlines with up to 600 hooks, and seines. One unexpected detrimental factor to sturgeon survival is discarded rubber bands used by Canada Post to bind mail. These are washed through storm sewers into the St. Lawrence River where they become threaded onto the pointed snouts of sturgeon grubbing in the mud for food. Out of 800 fish studied near Québec, 64 had elastic bands. The bands become embedded in the sturgeon's head, interfere with feeding and leave the fish open to infection. Sturgeon with bands weigh one-third less than normal.

It is not a major sport fish in Canada but large specimens are occasionally hooked or snagged to the great surprise of the angler. Some anglers do pursue this giant fish using minnows, meat or worms as bait or spinning gear and hand lines. Sturgeon fight strongly and may leap. There are catches of one sturgeon for every 4 hours fishing effort near Medicine Hat, Alberta. There are winter spear fisheries in the U.S.A. and they are caught through the ice at Petrie Island on the Ottawa River (local informant, 10 February 2007). The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources publishes a print and on-line "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish" (www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/) and has advisory limits for eating this species in the Ottawa River. Environnement Québec also has recommended limits, in meals per month (1 to 8) for size of fish (small, medium or large), for such areas as Lac Deschênes at Aylmer and Quyon, Deschênes Rapids, the Ottawa River below Gatineau, above Hull, and at Masson, the Lièvre River above and below Buckingham and the Gatineau River at Chelsea, among others (www.menv.gouv.qc.ca, downloaded 13 October 2004). As these limits are apt to change, anglers consuming this fish should consult the most recent version.

This species was placed in the "Not at Risk" category in 1986 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (Houston, 1987) but is listed as threatened in Canada by Peterson et al. (2003).

Lepisosteidae - Gars - Lépisostés

Gars are found in freshwaters of North and Central Americac and Cuba, sometimes entering brackish water and rarely the sea. There are 7 species with 2 in Canada and 1 in the NCR.

Gars have elongate jaws ("gar" is Old English for spear) filled with needle-like teeth. The ganoid scales are heavy, peg and groove hinged, non-overlapping, rhombic and plate-like, forming an effective armour. The tail is abbreviate heterocercal, externally appearing symmetrical but heterocercal internally. An upper tail lobe disappears with growth. There are 3 branchiostegal rays. The swimbladder has a rich blood supply enabling the fish to breathe air through a connection to the gut. A school of gars will break the water surface to breathe air at the same time and reduce the chances of attack by predators. Vertebrae are peculiar in having an opisthocoelous shape - anterior end convex, posterior end concave, a kind of ball and socket joint - which is almost unique in fishes and more usually associated with amphibians and reptiles. Dorsal and anal fins are near the tail. They lack spines but have fulcra (angled scales) on their anterior edge. The alligator gar of the southern U.S.A. and central America is the largest species at 3 m and over 158 kg.

Cretaceous and Eocene fossil gars are known from North America, Europe, India and West Africa. Fossil gars have been reported from Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, well north of their modern distribution. An Upper Cretaceous coprolite (fossil faecal matter) from Alberta contained remains of gar scales and vertebrae. The gar was probably eaten by a crocodile, an indication of the different faunas that Lepisosteus species have lived with in Canada.

Gars favour shallow, weedy areas of lakes and rivers. They are ambush predators, lying still or quietly stalking prey until it can be seized by a sudden rush. Their food is almost entirely fishes. They make excellent subjects for home aquaria when young and for public aquaria when large. Gars are not sought after by anglers since they are hard to hook in their elongate, bony jaws, but a few enthusiasts specialize in their capture. They are not a commercial fishery item. Gar scales and skins are occasionally made into jewelery, picture frames, purses and boxes. The scales can be highly polished.

Longnose Gar / Lépisosté osseux
Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Lepisosteus osseus, courtesy of Duane Raver and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Lepisosteus osseus, courtesy of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Lepisosteus osseus, dried specimen from Shirley's Bay, Ottawa River. Photo: Brian W. Coad.

gar in Shirleys Bay, Ottawa River, 16 July 2007, courtesy of David Seburn

Taxonomy

Other common names include Garpike, Northern Longnose Gar, Billy Gar, Billfish, Needlenose, Northern Mailed Fish, Pin-nose Gar, Bonypike, Scissorbill and Poisson armé.

Key Characters

This species is the only gar in the NCR and is readily identified by the very elongate snout armed with needle-like teeth.

Description

This species is distinguished by the long, narrow snout 14-18 times longer than minimum width, 57-66 lateral line scales and spots only on the body from the pelvic fins to the caudal peduncle and on the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. Gill rakers 14-31. Dorsal fin rays 6-9, anal rays 7-10, pectoral rays 10-13 and 6 pelvic rays. Young fish have dorsal and ventral filaments on the caudal fin. The swimming young fish appears to be moved by a propeller as these filaments vibrate rapidly.

Colour

Adults are grey or olive-brown to dark green fading to pale green or silver on the flanks and white on the belly. Colour is variable with habitat. Flank scales often outlined in black. The dorsal, anal and caudal fins are pale brown to yellow and spotted. Pectoral and pelvic fins are dusky without spots. Young have a narrow reddish-brown or black stripe on the back, and one on the mid-flank which has a wavy upper edge. Above the flank band they are brown to black, below brown with white or cream areas.

Size

Reaches over 2 m and possibly over 22.8 kg. The world, all-tackle angling record weighed 22.82 kg and came from the Trinity River, Texas in 1954, but this may have been another species, probably an Alligator Gar. A gar weighing 16 lbs (7.3 kg) and measuring 40 inches (1.02 m) in length was caught near Rideau Falls in the Ottawa River (Anonymous, 1974b), a 13.9 lbs (6.3 kg) gar from the Ottawa River on 3 July 1973 ( www.canadian-sportfishing.com/NationalFishRegistry/Catch_And_Keep1.asp), a 15.2 lbs (6.9 kg) fish was caught by Scott Thibeault in the Ottawa River on 1 June 2001 (www.ofah.org/Registry/fish.cfm?RecID=23, downloaded 14 May 2004), a 51 inch fish with a 16 inch girth was caught by Jeff Cyr in the Ottawa River on 6 October 1994 ( www.canadian-sportfishing.com/NationalFishRegistry/Live_Release1.asp, downloaded 13 June 2003), and gar about 20 lbs and 54-57 inches long are reported form the Ottawa River (G. Barnardo, in email, 10 June 2004).

Distribution

In Canada found from the St. Lawrence River basin, the Great Lakes, but rare in Lake Superior, across southern Ontario. In the U.S.A. found in the Mississippi River, Great Lakes and southern Atlantic coastal basins, absent from the eastern American mountains. In the NCR it is found in the Ottawa River and mouths of tributary rivers.

Origin

This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian or possibly an Atlantic coastal refugium (Mandrak and Crossman, 1992).

Habitat

It is usually found in quiet, weedy shallows of lakes and larger rivers and, because of its air-breathing ability, enters hot stagnant waters to feed where other predators could not survive. The preferred temperature is said to be 33.1°C. Gars can be seen in summer hovering motionless at the surface although they dive rapidly out of sight if disturbed. They can also be seen at night in summer when canoeing in Shirley's Bay, the most common mid- to large-sized fish in the bay (Eric Snyder, pers comm., 7 January 2008).

Age and Growth

Maximum age is 27 years for males and 32 years for females. Females grow faster and the sex ratio of males to females changes from about 262 to 100 in early life to only 8 males per 100 females after age 10.The growth of young is the fastest of any North American freshwater fish. These gar are mature at 6 years and 50.0 cm.

Food

Food is usually all fishes of suitable size, more rarely frogs, crayfish and even small aquatic mammals. Prey is seized by a sideways slash of the snout after a dart or drift from cover. The prey, impaled on the teeth, is manoeuvred so that is can be swallowed head first.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in spring and summer at 20°C or warmer usually in weedy shallows. Ripe gar that were presumed to be spawning were caught in the lower Carp River, Fitzroy Harbour Provincial Park on 10 June 1964 (McAllister and Coad, 1975). Water temperature was 23°C and the current medium over a rocky bottom. Gar are also reported as spawning in a large pool in the Ottawa River at the end of Woodroffe Avenue in June (www.ottawariverkeeper.ca/riverkeeper/ecology/@200_river/phen.html) and on 13 June 2008 in the Quyon River at the lower bridge (see below). The female is approached by up to 15 males which she leads in an elliptical path. The males nudge the female's belly area with their snouts while oriented head down. Males and female quiver and eggs and sperm are released. The eggs are scattered and attach to vegetation. The eggs are dark green, perhaps as camouflage, and measure 3.2 mm in diameter. The number of eggs may be as high as 77,156. Eggs are poisonous to birds, mammals and humans, and can kill smaller mammals. In Ontario gar eggs have been found in the nests of Smallmouth Bass and such nests had a higher success rate than nests with only bass eggs. Whether gar are deliberately spawning over bass nests is uncertain, they may merely be in the same area. However they do gain an advantage because the bass defends the nest against predators. Curiously, gar eggs are eaten by other fish despite being reputedly poisonous to mammals. The bass may benefit by having larger gar eggs and larvae in the nest to distract predators from the smaller bass eggs and larvae. Also more eggs and larvae of whatever species lessens the chance of individual loss to a single predatory attempt. Conversely, the male bass has more eggs to guard and the larger gar eggs are more attractive to predators, but on balance both fish species benefit. The young gar have an adhesive pad on the snout tip which attaches them to weeds. After about 9 weeks the yolk-sac is absorbed, the gar no longer hangs vertically from vegetation and is free-swimming. They grow very rapidly, as much as 3.9 mm a day, much faster than most other Canadian freshwater fishes.

spawning gar in Quyon River at lower bridge, 13 June 2008. Photo B. W. Coad.

eggs of spawning gar in Quyon River at lower bridge, 13 June 2008. Photo B. W. Coad.

Importance

Gar are considered a pest because they eat other fishes and are often killed by fish. They have been pursued in the NCR by anglers who specialise in trying to catch this species with its narrow bony mouth. They are edible, better tasting when smoked, although they are hard to clean because of the bony armour. The flesh must be carefully cleaned of the eggs before eating as these are thought to be poisonous although there is some dispute about this.

Amiidae - Bowfins - Poissons-castors

The Bowfin is found in freshwaters of eastern North America and is the only member of its family. Fossil amiids are known world-wide and the oldest are of Jurassic age, 135-195 million years ago. Eocene amiids have been described from British Columbia, Palaeocene and Cretaceous ones from Alberta and Palaeocene and Oligocene ones from Saskatchewan. The genus Amia has been extant for 70 million years; evolutionary change is very slow.

The general body form of a Bowfin is unmistakable. In addition there is a large bony structure on the underside of the head between the lower jaws known as a gular plate. Branchiostegal rays number 10-13. There are no pyloric caeca. The caudal fin is an abbreviate heterocercal one. Heterocercal tails have the vertebral column turned upwards into the upper lobe of the fin, which is longer than the lower lobe. In the Bowfin, the lobes are not noticeably different in size. Scales are cycloid but are reinforced with ganoin. Some teeth are pointed canines while others are peg-like. Gill rakers are reduced to knobs but bear small spines.

The Bowfin's relationships to other fishes have long been discussed and large monographs have been written on the details of its anatomy. It is, in a sense, a living fossil, since many related families and species were widespread in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but the Bowfin is the only surviving representative. Unlike sturgeons, the skeleton is bony but it has the heterocercal tail and a trace of a spiral valve. The gular plate, heavy bone plates on the head, and ganoin containing scales are also ancient characters. It is now considered to be related to the Teleostei and, with its fossil relatives, is equal in rank to the thousands of teleost species. The Bowfin swimbladder can be used as a lung since it has an opening to the gut and the internal surface is well-supplied with blood vessels. This fish can survive out of water for a day, and thrives in low oxygen waters such as stagnant swamps. Recent studies have shown that Bowfins cannot aestivate like the tropical lungfishes because they cannot detoxify ammonia waste or reduce metabolism and they die after 3-5 days of air exposure.

Bowfin / Poisson-castor
Amia calva Linnaeus, 1766

Amia calva, courtesy of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Amia calva, courtesy of Duane Raver and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Taxonomy

Other common names include Dogfish, Mudfish, Mud Pike, Grindle, Grinnell, Griddle, Spot-tail, Lawyer, Cottonfish, Blackfish, Speckled Cat, Scaled Ling, Beaverfish, Cypress Trout, Amie, Poisson de marais and Choupique. Bowfin refers to the long, undulating dorsal fin.

Key Characters

The gular plate, a large bony structure between the lower jaws on the underside of the head, identifies this freshwater fish.

Description

The dorsal fin has 42-58 soft rays, the anal fin 9-12 rays and the pectoral fin 16-18 rays. There are 62-70 scales in a complete lateral line. The anterior nostrils have barbel-like flap.

Colour

The back is a dark-olive or brownish with the flanks mottled, marbled or reticulated with olive and yellow. The belly varies from white to light green. The dorsal fin is dark olive with 2 dark broken stripes, the anal, pelvic and pectoral fins are bright green. Males have an eye spot at the upper caudal fin base. The spot is dark and about twice as large as the eye and is surrounded by an orange or yellow halo. This spot is absent in females. Such eyespots are used to deflect the attack of predators from the eye to the less important tail, which may well give the predator a slap in the face! The anal, pectoral and pelvic fins have orange bases and tips in males. Young fish are lighter overall and have a black margin to the dorsal and caudal fins. There is a narrow stripe from the snout through the eye onto the opercle. Young smaller than 3-4 cm are black.

Size

Attains 109 cm. The world, all-tackle record from Florence, South Carolina in 1980 weighed 9.75 kg and a 6.7 kg fish was taken from Whitefish Lake, Ontario.

Distribution

Found from the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain drainage of southern Québec westward around the Great Lakes in southern Ontario as far as Minnesota. In the south it reaches Florida and Texas. There are no specimens in a museum collection definitively from the NCR. Halkett (1906) mentioned two specimens from the Ottawa River in the Fisheries Museum, Ottawa and Prince et al. (1906) also reported two specimens in the Museum from the Ottawa River (presumably the same two fish) but did note they may not have been caught near "the district". Bergeron and Brousseau (1982) and Bernatchez and Giroux (2000) map this species within the NCR but may have based this on Prince et al. (1906). However competent fishermen familiar with a wide variety of fishes have reported it from Britannia in the late 1940s, Rockland; and even below the Parliament Buildings, all in the Ottawa River (J. McLoughlin, personal communication, 1986; D. Brunton, in letter, 1987; E. Hendrycks, personal communication, 2000). Chabot and Caron (1996) map a specimen from the Ottawa River, near the mouth of the Gatineau River.

Origin

This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium (Mandrak and Crossman, 1992).

Habitat

Bowfins prefer warm quieter waters with a lot of vegetation in lakes and river backwaters. They can survive temperatures up to 35°C in stagnant waters which other predatory fish cannot utilise. However they can be found too in clear water bodies that are quite cool. Bowfins gulp air at the surface even in well-oxygenated water. Their preferred temperature is 30.5°C. Bowfins can aestivate for short periods in a moist chamber, 20 cm in diameter and 10 cm below the soil surface when flood waters recede.

Age and Growth

Life span may exceed 30 years. Males are smaller than females and probably do not live as long. Bowfins become sexually mature at 3-5 years of age when they are about 61 cm (females) and 45.7 cm (males). Growth is rapid with some fish exceeding 20 cm in the first year of life.

Food

Food is mainly other fishes, with some crayfishes, aquatic insects and frogs, taken at night after moving into shallower water. The Bowfin feeds by a rapid lunge, opening the mouth to suck in the prey. The opening and closing of the mouth takes about 0.075 seconds. They can also move very stealthily by undulating the dorsal fin, moving both backwards and forwards.

Reproduction

This species spawns from April to June depending on latitude. Nests are constructed by the male in shallow (usually less than 1.5 m), weedy areas of lakes and rivers. The nests are under logs or other objects, or are circular areas up to 76 cm across where all vegetation has been bitten off and removed. The male defends his nest against other males and during the spawning season torn fins are not unusual as nests may be quite close together. Spawning takes place at 16-19°C when the male entices a female into the nest, circles her for 10-15 minutes while she lies on the bottom of the nest, and nips her snout and flanks. The male then lies with the female, their fins vibrate rapidly and eggs and sperm are released within a minute. This may happen 4-5 times over 1-2 hours. Several females may spawn with one male and each female may deposit eggs in more than one nest. Eggs number up to 64,000 in females but number up to 5000 in nests. They stick to the plant roots or gravel in the bottom of the nest. The male guards the eggs and fans them with his pectoral fins. Eggs are 2.8 x 2.2 mm in dimensions. The eggs hatch in 8-10 days and the young use an adhesive snout organ to attach to vegetation for a further 7-9 days while the yolk-sac is absorbed. The male continues to guard and herd the young fry until they are about 10 cm long. The fry form into a ball which follows the male. So defensive are males, that one attempted to attack a human standing on the bank, coming 20 cm or so out of the water and repeating the attack several times.

Importance

The Bowfin is a good sport fish on light tackle, but is seldom fished for and is very rare in the NCR. Some are taken elsewhere by spearing while diving. It is edible, though not particularly tasty, and some commercial catches in Ontario have been sent to the United States where it is a more familiar food fish and better appreciated. "Cajun caviar" is made out of the roe in Louisiana. Small Bowfins are excellent aquarium fish because of their "lung", colouration and predatory habits.

Hiodontidae - Mooneyes - Laquaiches

The Mooneyes are found only in North American fresh waters in central Atlantic, Arctic and Gulf of Mexico drainages. There are only 2 species, both found in Canada, with 1 in the NCR.

These moderate-sized fishes are similar in appearance to Herrings but have teeth on the tongue, roof of the mouth and jaws, and a dorsal fin far back over the elongate anal fin. There are 7 pelvic fin rays, a pelvic axillary process, 7-10 branchiostegal rays, a subopercular bone is present on the side of the head and scales in the lateral line number 51-62. There is a ventral keel to the body but no scutes as in herrings. Scales are cycloid. The swimbladder is connected to the skull. The eyes are large and far forward on the head near the rounded snout. There are adipose eyelids. There is a single pyloric caecum.

A unique feature is that eggs are ovulated directly into the body cavity and not carried externally via oviducts as in most bony fishes.

Mooneye / Laquaiche argentée
Hiodon tergisus Le Sueur, 1818

Hiodon tergisus, South Nation River below High Falls, Casselman, 29 May 2004. Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Taxonomy

Other common names include Toothed Herring, River Whitefish, Freshwater Herring, Cisco and White Shad. Locally called whitefish (Hopkins, 2000).

Key Characters

This species is the only member of its family in the NCR and is characterised by having a fleshy ventral keel from the pelvic to the anal fins, a dorsal fin origin in front of the anal fin origin, a long anal fin, a pelvic axillary process, no adipose fin, teeth in the jaws, and the mouth extending at most to mid-pupil level.

Description

Dorsal fin rays 10-14, anal rays 26-33 and pectoral rays 13-15. Scales in lateral line 51-60. Gill rakers 11-17. The eye is large. The anal fin base has 2-3 rows of small scales and, in males, the anterior part of the anal fin is greatly enlarged leaving the margin behind strongly concave. Males also show a concavity on the body over the anterior anal fin base rather like a depression caused by a pressed thumb.

Colour

Colour is olive to brown on the back with a steel-blue sheen, flanks are silvery and the belly white. Fins are dusky, and a black stripe margins the leading edge of the pectoral fin. Spawning males and females have a pinkish hue on their fins and bellies. The eyes are golden above and silvery below.

Size

Reaches 47.0 cm and 1.1 kg. A Bay of Quinte, Ontario fish weighed 0.65 kg and is the Canadian fishing record.

Distribution

Found from the James Bay lowlands of northeastern Ontario and adjacent Québec, south through the Ottawa River basin to the upper St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain, and lakes Ontario and Erie. Also in Lake of the Woods, southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and the North and South Saskatchewan, Battle and Red Deer rivers of Alberta. In central U.S.A. south to the Gulf coast. In the NCR long known only from the Ottawa River but now recorded from the South Nation River at Casselman (29 May 2004).

Origin

This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium.

Habitat

Mooneyes are found in both running and still shallow waters of lakes and rivers and appear to be sensitive to turbidity. They are usually taken at less than 11 m depth. Their preferred temperatures are 22-27°C. There is a migration up rivers to spawn in the spring.

Age and Growth

Males mature as early as 3 years while females are mature at 4-5 years, generally. Talajic (1980) studied this species in the Ottawa River above and below Ottawa. Life span is up to 13 years in the Ottawa River using scales for ageing verified by reading otoliths and vertebrae. Females live longer than males, the latter reaching 11 years in the Ottawa. Females mature at age 4 above and below Ottawa while males mature at 3 years (below Ottawa) and 4 years (above Ottawa). Females outnumber males by 2.2:1 (below Ottawa) and 3.4:1 (above Ottawa). Males and females showed no significant differences in length, weight and age although fish below Ottawa were significantly smaller than fish above Ottawa at an age. Growth is similar to other mooneye populations in Canada.

Food

Food includes insects, crustaceans such as crayfish and plankton, molluscs and small fishes. Ottawa River Mooneyes fed on ants, mayflies, dragonflies and beetles based on stomach contents (McAllister and Coad, 1975). Talajic (1980) found that the most important foods in the Ottawa River were Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera with smaller amounts of other aquatic insect larvae and, rarely, minnows, clams, spiders and crustaceans. Flying ants were also found in large numbers. Food depended on availability, varying through the year. Feeding often occurs at the surface in the evening and during the night when insects fallen on the water surface are taken aided by the light-sensitive eyes.

Reproduction

Spawning takes place in April-June and each female may produce up to 20,000 buoyant, blue-grey eggs of 2.1 mm diameter deposited over rocks and gravel in running water. Ripe females have been caught at the beginning of June near the mouth of the Gatineau River (McAllister and Coad, 1975) and Talajic (1974) found spawning from mid-May to mid-June at 10-14ºC. Talajic (1974) recorded up to an average of 9000 eggs of average diameter 2.24 mm, with the largest eggs to 2.98 mm.

Importance

This species is of limited commercial importance, mostly on the U.S. side of Lake Erie. Various Herrings and Whitefishes have been listed erroneously as Mooneye in catch statistics. Commercial fisheries for mooneyes above and below Hull from the Québec side of the Ottawa River is documented by Pluritec (1982b), assuming "Laquaiche aux yeux d'or" is a mis-nomer for this species. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and Gouvernement du Québec Faune et Parcs (1999) report one license is issued for this species in the Ottawa River (Carillon to Ottawa-Hull). It is caught by anglers who specialise in catching this unusual sport species using flies, worms, grasshoppers, minnows or lures on light tackle. It is best eaten spiced, smoked or fried with butter and onions as it is dry and tasteless when fresh.

Anguillidae - Freshwater Eels - Anguilles d'eau douce

Freshwater eels are found world-wide in temperate to tropical waters except for the south Atlantic Ocean and the whole eastern Pacific Ocean. There are 16 species with 1 occurring in Canada and the NCR.

The term eel-like is based on the body shape of freshwater eels and includes the muscular slipperiness associated with this fish and its mucus-producing skin. Both dorsal and anal fins are long and join the tail fin. The dorsal fin begins well behind the pectoral fin level. There are no pelvic fins and the pectorals, when present, are on mid-flank. Scales are absent or when present small, embedded and cycloid. There is a lateral line. Jaws are strong and toothed. The gill openings are small and just in front of the pectoral fins. The anterior nostril is tubular.

The life cycle of eels was unknown until Johannes Schmidt published his 1922 study based on years of collecting. Where the adults went on their seaward migration and where the elvers ascending rivers came from were a mystery. These eels are catadromous, living in freshwater but migrating to the sea to spawn and die. In the North Atlantic Ocean spawning occurs in the Sargasso Sea. The young eels or leptocephali (= thin head larvae) are distinctive being transparent and leaf-like. A newspaper can be read through the body of a leptocephalus. In this form they drift to the shores of America and Europe, transform into elvers with the more familiar eel-shape and move into rivers and lakes to feed and grow.

The biology of eels is based almost entirely on the freshwater phase of their life. Adults in freshwater develop large eyes, the gut degenerates and coloration changes in preparation for the migration to the Sargasso Sea. Adults were only caught in the deep ocean, at nearly 2000 m near the Bahamas, in 1977. The Sargasso spawning ground is deduced from collections of larvae across the Atlantic Ocean - the smallest and youngest larvae are found around the Sargasso Sea. The spawning grounds are at about 400 m, at a 17°C temperature and in saltier water than usual sea conditions according to some authors but since spawning adults have never been caught this remains dubious.

The theory advanced by D. W. Tucker in 1959 maintained that European Eels lack the energy resources in their migratory, spawning phase to reach the Sargasso Sea 7000 km from Europe. They are presumed to be following an instinct to head out to sea, dating from an earlier geological age when the Atlantic Ocean was narrower before the separation caused by Continental Drift. All European Eels die at sea and Europe is restocked by larvae drifting there spawned from American parents. The American populations are closer to the Sargasso and can make the journey easily. Differences between American and European eels are merely the consequence of different environmental regimes in different parts of the Sargasso. This theory has not found general acceptance but, if true, means that all European Eels can be harvested for food without depleting stocks. Eels are valued as food, particularly in Europe and Japan, but are not used as extensively in North America.

American Eel / Anguille d'Amérique
Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur, 1817)

Anguilla rostrata, courtesy of Duane Raver and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Anguilla rostrata, Ottawa River at Champlain Bridge, 28 June 2005. Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Taxonomy

Other common names include Common Eel, Atlantic Eel, Boston Eel, Snakefish, Silver Eel, Yellow-bellied Eel, Bronze Eel, Black Eel or Green Eel and Anguille argentée.

Key Characters

The American Eel is distinguished by its shape, confluent dorsal, caudal and anal fins, the toothed jaws, and the single gill opening. Lampreys have a similar shape and confluent fins but have no jaws (teeth are in a sucking disc) and there are 7 gill openings.

Description

Scales are small and embedded in the skin and not readily visible without close examination. The dorsal fin has about 240 rays, the anal fin somewhat fewer around 200, and the pectoral fin has 14-20 rays. Branchiostegal rays number 8-14 and vertebrae 103-112. The lower jaw projects and the mouth extends to the rear, or beyond, of the eye. The gill opening is a small slit in front of the pectoral fin. Migrating fish change colour and the eyes of males almost triple in size.

Colour

Freshwater adults are overall yellow, greenish, muddy or olive-brown with a dark back, sometimes yellow, green, orange or pink flank tinges and a creamy or yellowish-white belly. Such adults are called Yellow Eels. Adults migrating to the sea have a bronze to black back, a metallic sheen and a light to silvery belly. They are then known as Silver, Bronze or Black Eels. Colour will also change gradually to match the substrate. The larvae are transparent, the transformed elvers or glass eels are also transparent (with black eyes) but soon become grey-green to black, but only adults are found in the NCR.

Size

Reaches 1.52 m and 7.5 kg in females and 50.3 cm in males. Fish larger than 40 cm total length are almost always females. The world, all-tackle angling record weighed 3.88 kg and was caught at Cliff Pond, Massachusetts in 1992. A 5.1 lbs (2.32 kg), 38.5 inch (97.8 cm) long and 9.25 inch (23.5 cm) girth was caught in the Ottawa River on 30 July 2002 by Kyle Richards (www.ofah.org/Registry/fish.cfm?RecID=1, downloaded 14 May 2004).

Distribution

Found in the western North Atlantic from central Labrador south to Brazil. Also in freshwater drainages of the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins, the Hudson Bay drainage of Alberta and Saskatchewan (by introduction) and throughout Maritime Canada. Eels are reported from the Mississippi Lake and therefore can be expected to occur in the Mississippi River of the NCR as well as the Ottawa River.

Origin

This species entered the NCR from an Atlantic coastal refugium.

Habitat

Eels are found in mud-bottomed rivers, streams and lakes. They can be seen looped over weeds in rivers but are usually nocturnal and lie buried in mud during the day. Their preferred temperature is 19.0°C. In winter they bury themselves in mud and are torpid. They can travel overland to reach isolated water bodies, using snake-like movements when the ground is wet. Elvers can climb short vertical, wet walls such as those at canal locks. The Moses-Saunders Hydroelectric Power Dam on the St. Lawrence River at Cornwall was a barrier to young eels migrating into Lake Ontario. An eel ladder (a trough and baffle system with rest pools crisscrossing an ice chute through the dam) was built and over 3 million eels used it in 4 years. There is some evidence of a homing ability to their river of origin if they are displaced. In Lake Ainslie, Nova Scotia, eels have been observed in clumps or eel balls of up to 30 fish found on the bottom or even breaking the surface. Eels can be heard making chirping or sucking noises in warm summer weather on Cape Breton Island. Silver Eels in Newfoundland migrate to sea at age 9-18 years. They leave Nova Scotian waters in late August to mid-November. Adults in Passamaquoddy Bay, N.B. are active by day and night in contrast to freshwater eels, and made frequent surface to bottom dives perhaps to sample geoelectric fields as orientation cues for migration. Migration is often nocturnal.

Age and Growth

Life span is at least 43 years, possibly 50 years or more. Males mature at about 28-30 cm and females at 46 cm. Females grow larger than males, as much as twice the length. The leptocephalus larva has a 1 year life span in the sea.

Food

In freshwater food is any bottom invertebrates, frogs and fishes. Smaller eels favour insects but large eels eat fish and crayfish as well as carrion. In New Brunswick eels are important predators of Atlantic Salmon in nets or traps. Elvers are cannibals. A wide variety of fishes and birds eat eels at various life stages. When they migrate back to the sea, they stop feeding.

Reproduction

Spawning in the Sargasso Sea is believed to occur from February to July but has not been observed. Egg numbers have been estimated as up to 20 million per female but the number released is guesswork as none have been found. The adults take 2-3 months to reach the Sargasso and the adults die after spawning. The Sargasso spawning grounds of the American Eel are to the southwest of the European Eel grounds although there is evidence for a more southern spawning ground. Leptocephali take 1 (perhaps more) year to drift to Canadian shores and transformation to a young eel or elver occurs at 60-65 mm during winter while drifting to or in nearshore waters. Glass eels near Saint John's, Newfoundland have been observed about 2 m below the surface drifting heads up and tails down. This may be done as camouflage from predators which swim horizontally, to counteract sinking, to escape vertically from predators and to facilitate vertical migration. The elvers enter estuaries in April and are 65-90 mm long. They are found in coastal rivers from May to July. The run lasts from a few days to several weeks depending on the river. In the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence young eels only move upstream in their second summer of stream residence. Temperature may be a factor in successful elver arrival. Males tend to stay near the coast in estuaries while females move up rivers sometimes as much as thousands of kilometres. All 356 eels sexed in Lake Champlain were female for example. Males also appear to be much rarer than females in northern waters. Males may have this distribution to ensure rapid maturation and return to the spawning ground. They do not need to be large to produce adequate amounts of sperm and estuaries are good feeding areas. Females require a delayed maturation as a larger body size results in more eggs. Cold northern and inland waters favour this. There are different stocks of eels in Canadian waters. Lake Ontario eels can be distinguished from those in St. Lawrence River tributaries and the Maritimes by the presence of mirex, a chemical used in insecticides. Pollutants are now a convenient method for stock identification but a sad reflection on the state of the environment.

Importance

Eels can be a nuisance to fishermen as they eat other fish caught in nets. They are used in physiological and other studies in laboratories and are easy to keep, surviving without food for up to 22 months. Adult eels are caught in Canada for export to Europe, particularly along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, using weirs, baited setlines, and pots, fyke nets, eel traps and hoop nets. Some are speared during winter when they are buried in mud. The catch in Lake Ontario reached 221,940 kg in 1978 and the total Quebec fishery for the same year was 527.9 tonnes and for the Maritimes about 320 tonnes. The total Canadian catch in 1988 was 1016 tonnes, worth about $2.3 million. Increased fishing pressure in Lake Ontario resulted in a decrease in average eel size. Elvers have been caught in Canada for raising in ponds in the U.S.A. and the Far East. Efforts to start such aquaculture in Canada have not met with extensive success but are potentially viable. Eels are exported live, on ice, or frozen. Live eels are used in making jellied eels which are popular in England. Smoked eel is an important, tasty and highly priced product. Eels should be cleaned with care as the blood has a neurotoxin which can affect humans but is destroyed in cooking. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources publishes a print and on-line "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish" (www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/) and has advisory limits for eating this species in the Mississippi River and Ottawa River. As these limits are apt to change, anglers consuming this fish should consult the most recent version.

Dymond (1939) records catches from 1881 onward in the general vicinity of the NCR but trends cannot be determined as fisheries data is recorded from different areas at different dates. For example, in 1898 the catch was 8172 kg in the Ottawa River from Carillon to Pontiac in Québec, the catch in 1933 from Hull, Labelle and Pontiac counties was 16,162 kg, and the catch in 1921 in Prescott, Russell, Carleton and Renfrew counties was 1800 kg, all the highest figures recorded. Generally catches were greater on the Québec side because there were more commercial fishermen there than on the Ontario side. Commercial fisheries for eels above and below Hull from the Québec side of the Ottawa River is documented by Pluritec (1982b). Lac Dollard des Ormeaux, the stretch of the Ottawa River form the Chaudière Falls to the Carillon Dam, had a harvest of 295 kg by Ontario commercial fishermen in 1999 but only 69 kg in 2000 (Haxton and Chubbock, 2002).

Blasting for a marina on the Ottawa River killed large eels around 1970.

Clupeidae - Herrings - Harengs

Herrings, shads, sardines, pilchards and menhadens are found world-wide in warmer marine waters with some species anadromous or permanent freshwater residents. There are about 180 species with 9 found in Canada, but only 1 occurs in the NCR.

These fishes have modified scales on the belly forming abdominal scutes with a saw-like edge. The lateral line is usually absent or on only a few scales. Silvery cycloid scales are easily detached and are found only on the body. Teeth are small or absent but gill rakers are long and numerous for sieving plankton. Fins lack spines. There is no adipose fin. The pectoral and pelvic fins have a large axillary scale. The caudal fin is deeply forked. The eye is partly covered by an adipose eyelid. The flesh is particularly oily and is highly nutritional.

Herring are easily caught and are extremely valuable to commercial fisheries. They are the most important fishes economically, both as food for man and also for many other commercial fish species. An estimated 10 billion Atlantic Herring are caught each year and in one year members of the herring family made up 37.3% of all fish caught in the world. Some are used for fish meal, as fertiliser and as an oil source.

Dymond (1939) mentions the American Shad (Alose Savoureuse, Alosa sapidissima (Wilson, 1811)) as occurring in the "Ottawa Region" but this probably refers to the lower Ottawa River outside the NCR. The construction of the dam at Carillon has blocked further upstream migration in recent years and the rapids there before the dam was constructed probably limited access to a few strays, perhaps none of which reached the NCR.

Alewife / Gaspareau
Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson, 1811)

Alosa pseudoharengus, courtesy of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Alosa pseudoharengus, courtesy of Duane Raver and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Taxonomy Other common names include Gaspereau, Mulhaden, Sawbelly, Spreau, Kyack, Grey Herring, Glut Herring, Branch Herring, Spring Herring, Golden Shad and River Herring.

Key Characters

This herring is the only member of the family in the NCR. It is distinguished by the row of sharp-edged scales on the belly, the adipose eyelid, no lateral line or adipose fin, and scales extending onto each lobe of the caudal fin.

Description

Dorsal fin rays 12-19, anal rays 15-21, pectoral rays 12-16 and pelvic rays 8. Scales along flank 42-54. Gill rakers long, numbering 38-46. Belly scales before the pelvic fin 17-21, behind 12-17.The dorsal fin origin is not far forward of the pelvic fins, there are no enlarged scales before the dorsal fin on the back, there are no teeth on the roof of the mouth, the lower jaw projects and does not fit into the upper jaw notch, eye diameter is longer than the snout length, and there is no diamond-shaped scale pattern, as in related species.

Colour

The back is grey-green and the sides and belly are iridescent silver. The flank may have copper tinges in sea-run specimens or violet tinges in young. Lines run along the flank above the mid-line in some adults. There is a black spot behind the head on the upper flank. Fins are pale yellow or green but can be darkish. The caudal fin is dark with a white leading edge to the lower lobe. The peritoneum is silvery, pearl or pinkish-grey with small spots.

Size

Attains 40.0 cm and 0.28 kg.

Distribution

Found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and northeastern Newfoundland to South Carolina in the sea and tributary rivers. Also in the Great Lakes and tributaries having entered the higher lakes via canal systems. Known only from 2 collections from the Rideau Canal below the locks at Hog's Back Road, Ottawa (Coad, 1983b).

Origin

This species entered the NCR from the Rideau River system where they are known northeast of Kingston. None have been reported from the Ottawa River above the Carillon Dam (Coad, 1983b).

Habitat

The Alewife is a marine species which enters freshwater to spawn but some freshwater populations are land-locked and no longer return to the sea. They are found in both rivers and lakes where their preferred temperature is 18.8°C. The spread of Alewife through the Great Lakes via canals has been rapid. The first appearance in Lake Erie was in 1931, in Lake Huron 1933, and it is now abundant in both these lakes.

Age and Growth

Alewife mature at ages 3-5 with males maturing earlier than females, sometimes as young as 1-2 years. Females are longer and heavier than males of the same age. Life span exceeds 10 years.

Food

Food is the larger zooplankton, items of which may be selected individually, by a dart and suck, as well as filtered indiscriminately while swimming along with the mouth open. Alewife may choose either method depending on available food size. They may also gulp concentrations of plankton. In freshwater zooplankton is eaten too but some bottom amphipods are also taken and the diet may include aquatic insects in late summer when zooplankton numbers fall off. Larval fishes are part of the zooplankton and in freshwaters Alewife may be an important predator on commercial and sport fishes. Introduced Coho Salmon are an important predator on Alewife in the Great Lakes and have reduced mass die-offs.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in freshwater in spring and early summer (April-July) at water temperatures as low as 8.9°C. The pre-spawning migration in the St. John River, N.B. starts 3 months before spawning. Slow rivers are favoured but spawning does occur in lakes, ponds and streams. In lakes there is a spawning migration from deep water onto beaches in April-July, the timing being dependent on temperature. Spawning occurs in Lake Ontario at 13-16°C. Two or more fish swim in tight circles with flanks touching, rising to the surface. After circling once or twice at the surface, the fish dive and presumably release eggs and sperm over the substrate. Spawning takes place in the evening and at night. Older fish spawn first and may be spawning for the fifth time. Eggs are 1.3 mm in diameter and each female may produce 450,000 eggs. Young return to the sea in late summer and fall. The downstream migration is triggered by increasing rainfall, rapid decrease in water temperature (below 12°C) and the moon phase (dark nights).

Importance

Alewife are commercially important and are caught on the spawning run using weirs, gill nets, dip nets and traps. The 1980 catch, which included Blueback Herring, was 9738 tonnes valued at $2,482,000. The 1988 catch of Alewife alone was 5560 tonnes. They are sold fresh, frozen, smoked, salted or pickled. Some is used as pet food, fish meal or bait in angling and for lobster and snow crab. The flesh is good but bony. Landlocked specimens are thinner and smaller and so are not used much as food for people. In the Great Lakes mass die-offs of Alewife strew beaches with immense numbers of decaying fish, rendering the area unsuitable for human use and a health hazard. They can clog water intake pipes. Recovery of populations is rapid, almost sevenfold in 3 years. Die-offs are caused by sudden temperature changes from cold, deep to warm, shallow waters.

Cyprinidae - Carps and Minnows - Carpes et Ménés

Carps, minnows, shiners, daces, chubs and their relatives comprise 53 species in fresh waters across Canada and 22 in the NCR, 2 of which are exotic or introduced. Some species may enter brackish water but the family is primarily a freshwater one. The family is also found in Africa and Eurasia but is absent from South America, Madagascar, New Guinea and Australia. There are over 2100 species, almost 10% of the world's fishes.

Carps are small (under 5 cm) to large (up to 3 m) fishes characterised by throat or pharyngeal teeth in 1-3 rows, with a maximum of 8 teeth in a row, there are no jaw teeth, lips are usually thin and not sucker-like, the upper jaw is bordered by the premaxillae bones, barbels are present in 0-3 pairs (mostly 1 pair or none in Canadian species), 3 branchiostegal rays, no true stomach, cycloid scales, and there are no true fin spines (some species have a hardened, unbranched ray in the dorsal and/or anal fin). The 4 anterior vertebrae are modified into Weberian ossicles which connect the swimbladder, in effect a sounding board, to the inner ear. Carps have extremely sensitive hearing and this is thought to account for their success. Carps produce an "alarm substance" when injured. This chemical stimulates other carps to flee and hide, another useful adaptation.

Pharyngeal tooth counts are an important diagnostic feature. These teeth lie on a modified, fifth gill arch which can be seen or probed behind the shoulder girdle, just inside the gill opening. The arch has to be removed with dissecting equipment to count the teeth. Tooth counts are presented as a formula such as 2,5-4,1 which indicates 2 teeth in the outer left row, 5 in the inner left row, 4 in the inner right row and 1 in the outer right row. Teeth may be lost from major or minor rows so variant formulae are given after the principal one. A horny pad on the underside of the basioccipital bone of the skull is used to masticate the food against. Tooth form varies with the food - molar-shaped teeth are used to crush molluscs, flat but grooved surfaces for grinding plant food and sharp edged teeth for slicing various invertebrate foods. Fin ray counts are also important in identification. The dorsal and anal fins have 3-4 unbranched rays followed by several branched rays. The first 2-3 unbranched rays are short or close together and may be difficult to see. The branched rays are usually well-separated and obvious. The last 2 branched rays are traditionally counted as 1 ray since they articulate with a single basal bone in the supporting skeleton. North American scientists give counts of dorsal and anal fin rays to include the last unbranched ray (i.e. as 1 ray) plus all branched rays with the last 2 counted as 1. In this website I have given only branched ray counts for dorsal and anal fins with the last 2 counted as 1.

Carps are remarkable for changes they undergo during the spawning season. Some fish, which are usually silvery, develop bright reds and yellows. Nuptial, pearl or breeding tubercles develop on the head, scales and fin rays often in distinct patterns, and there are in some species swellings of the head or fin rays. These changes are most apparent in males. Tubercles and swollen rays are used to clasp females during the spawning act. Tubercles are also used to fight other males and defend and clean nests. Colour attracts females for mating. Generally males have longer pectoral fins than females. Nest building males are larger than females, the reverse of the situation in most fishes where egg-bearing females are the largest. Not all species build nests and some simply broadcast eggs over weed, gravel or sand. Fractional spawning is common in carps. This is a prolonged spawning season which ensures no single batch of eggs is lost to unfavourable, temporary environmental changes such as floods. Carps are mostly omnivores, feeding on small crustaceans, insects and some minute plants but some specialise in eating large plants, or other fishes. Diet is reflected in pharyngeal tooth shape as mentioned above. Gut length is important too. A long intestine indicates a reliance on plant material which takes longer to digest. A simple, s-shaped gut is found in insectivorous fish. A black peritoneum is thought to protect gut bacteria from damaging light. The bacteria aid in breaking down the strong cell walls of plants. Size and shape of the mouth are also indicative of diet. Carps are found in many diverse habitats from swift, cold streams to warm bogs. These are schooling fishes, especially when young.

Carps play an important role in freshwaters as food for other fishes and some species are commercially important as bait fish, as sport fish or as food in Asian countries. Raising minnows (smaller Carp family members) as bait and as forage fish for sport fish is a big business in the U.S.A. It should be noted that it is prohibited to use live fish as bait in Québec or to carry them in from the Ontario side of the Ottawa River (Bergeron, 2005). They are an important element in the commercial aquarium trade and certain species are used in experimental studies by scientists.

The :Lake Chub (Couesius plumbeus) (Agassiz, 1850) is widely distributed in areas all around the NCR but has not been caught within this area. The Blacknose Dace (Rhinichthys atratulus (Herman, 1804)) is also not uncommon east and west of the NCR and, like the previous species, has been mapped within the NCR (Bernatchez and Giroux, 2000) but there are no confirmed records.

Goldfish / Carassin
Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Carassius auratus, courtesy of Duane Raver and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Taxonomy

Other common names include Golden Carp and Cyprin doré.

Key Characters

This species is identified by having 14-20 dorsal fin branched rays, a serrated spine at the dorsal and anal fin origins and no barbels, unlike the similar carp.

Description

Anal fin branched rays 5-6, usually 5, pectoral rays 14-17 and pelvic rays 8-10. Lateral line scales 25-34. Gill rakers 37-50. Pharyngeal teeth 4-4, with one tooth conical and the others with expanded crowns. Breeding males have small nuptial tubercles on the operculum, back and pectoral fin rays. The gut is elongate with several loops.

Colour

The golden or orange colour of artificially bred aquarium Goldfish is distinctive. However populations in the wild, if they breed successfully, gradually revert to a wild-type of colour. Golden fish are readily seen and eaten by birds and other fishes. Wild-type colour is an overall olive-green fading to a white belly. Young Goldfish are green, brown or bronze to almost black. Peritoneum dusky to black.

Size

Reaches 45.7 cm and 1.6 kg; larger fish being hybrids with the Common Carp.

Distribution

Originally found in China and Korea, now widely introduced in Canada by design or accident. Reported from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. They have been found in North America for over 100 years.

Origin

This species is an exotic or introduced species in the NCR, presumably by aquarium releases.

Habitat

Goldfish appear to favour ponds, or pools in streams, with aquatic vegetation but are often introduced into small bodies of water as ornamental fish or out of curiosity to see if they will survive. They are tolerant of turbidity, polluted waters, winterkill conditions and very high temperatures (upper lethal limit 41.4°C, preferred temperature 27.9°C).

Age and Growth

Life span, at least in captivity, is 30 years or more but about 7 years is more normal in the wild. Sexual maturity is attained at 9 months to 4 years. Males are smaller and grow more slowly than females. In any population females outnumber males as much as 7:1.

Food

Food includes aquatic insects, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, detritus and plants. Goldfish have a palatal organ on the roof of the mouth used to taste and sort food.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in warmer summer months at temperatures above 16°C and eggs are shed over plants or willow roots, often on sunny mornings. Each female is accompanied by 2 or more males and chases are reported with much splashing. Eggs are adhesive and up to 1.6 mm in diameter. A female will spawn 3-10 batches of eggs at 8-10 day intervals, with up to 4000 eggs being laid in each batch. Total fecundity is 380,000 eggs. Population numbers in confined areas are limited by a chemical released by the Goldfish which represses more spawning. Some populations of Goldfish are all-female clones.

Importance

Goldfish are familiar aquarium pets with many exotic varieties having been developed. These include Comets, Veiltails, Fringetails, Telescopes, Lionheads, Orandas, Shubunkins and others, often with bizarre shapes. They are also extensively used as an experimental fish, perhaps more than any other fish species. Studies include physiological and biochemical work and toxic chemical bioassays. Carp-goldfish hybrids have been used to demonstrate pollution in the Welland River near Niagara Falls. Fish from industrial areas had a higher frequency of cancers than those from a rural area. This hybrid is, therefore, a "sentinel" species or an advance warning system of deteriorating environmental conditions. Some are caught and sold with Common Carp as food.

Spotfin Shiner / Méné bleu
Cyprinella spiloptera (Cope, 1867)

Taxonomy

Other common names include Silver-finned Minnow, Satin-finned Minnow, Blue Minnow, Steelcoloured Shiner and Lemonfin Minnow. Formerly in the genus Notropis.

Key Characters

This species and other shiners (genera Luxilus and Notropis) are separated from other family members by usually having 7 branched dorsal fin rays following thin unbranched rays, protractile premaxillaries (upper lip separated from the snout by a groove), no barbels, large lateral line scales (fewer than 50), and a simple, s-shaped gut. This species is separated from its relatives by the last 2-4 membranes of the dorsal fin having black stripes.

Description

Dorsal fin branched rays usually 7, occasionally 6, anal fin branched rays 6-8, pectoral rays 12-16 and pelvic rays 7-9. Lateral line scales 34-41. The short gill rakers number 8-10. Pharyngeal teeth 1,4-4,1 or 1,4-4,0. Males have large nuptial tubercles on top of the head back to the dorsal fin, on the snout and on the lower jaw in a single row. Small tubercles are present on posterior edges of scales, particularly over the anal fin, and on pectoral, pelvic, caudal and anal fin rays.

Colour

The back and flanks are silvery to bluish or olive and the belly white or silvery-white. Flank scales are outlined with pigment. There is a narrow, olive stripe on the rear half of the body positioned below the lateral line. There is a mid-dorsal stripe passing on each side of the dorsal fin. Pectoral, pelvic and anal fins yellowish, especially in breeding males. Breeding males have an olive-yellow snout, steel-blue back, milky-white fin edges and the whole dorsal fin is blackened. Peritoneum silvery with some darker speckles.

Size

Reaches 12.0 cm.

Distribution

Found from Québec City west through the Great Lakes (but not in Lake Superior) and southern Ontario to North Dakota and south to Alabama and Oklahoma. Coad (1987b) documents occurrence in the NCR.

Origin

This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium (Mandrak and Crossman, 1992).

Habitat

Spotfin Shiners are usually found in rivers and larger streams over sand and gravel but may also occur in lakes. They are said to be tolerant of turbidity, siltation, high temperatures (up to 35°C, preferred temperature 29.5°C.) and pollution.

Age and Growth

Life span is 5 years and both sexes mature at 1 year, sometimes at 2 years of age.

Food

Food is mostly aquatic and terrestrial insects and crustaceans, with some plant material and even young fish. They eat eggs of their own species if these are deposited outside a crevice. Peak feeding occurred at 9 p.m. in a Michigan study.

Reproduction

Spawning takes place from May to September in Wisconsin but each locality has a more restricted peak season. Up to 7474, 1.2 mm diameter, adhesive eggs are deposited on the undersurface of logs or roots, under log bark or in crevices., or on vertical substrate Males defend a spawning territory of 50 cm or more which includes a crevice. They have been seen dragging rivals away by a grip on the pelvic or anal fin when an erected fin display failed to drive away the other male. Each male may grab the other and circle around at increasing speed until they are a blur in the water. Males make a "display pass" over crevices, swimming slowly and sometimes undulating or vibrating rapidly. Passes may occur up to 30 times before spawning. This usually attracts a female or the male may approach a school of females and hustle one toward the crevice. A male apparently presses a female against a log or crevice by positioning himself with his ventral surface touching her back, and both vibrate as eggs and sperm are shed. This can be repeated 2-3 times. When spawning on the undersurface of a log the male-female position is the same but they are upside down. Unusually for Carp Family members, the male of this species makes purring noises during courtship which are believed to be recognition signals. Spawning occurs fractionally, up to 12 times at intervals of 1-7 days. One female is reported to have laid 31 groups of eggs, each group having 10-97 eggs. Crevice spawning protects the eggs from predators, abrasion, smothering, displacement, and sunlight. Eggs laid in crevices have a better chance of being fertilised in the restricted space than those released into a current. Fractional spawning enables fecundity to be increased as not all eggs mature at the same time in a small body cavity. In addition, in crevice spawners a limited availability of crevices would restrict spawning activity unless crevices are used more than once. Fractional spawning also insures against loss of a generation to a sudden disaster.

Importance

This species has no specific importance in Canada but has a bait fish potential.

Common Carp / Carpe
Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758

Cyprinus carpio, courtesy of Duane Raver and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Cyprinus carpio, South Nation River downstream of Pont Seguin,
11 August 2004. Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Cyprinus carpio mouth, South Nation River downstream of Pont Seguin, 11 August 2004.
Photo: Brian W. Coad.

Taxonomy

Other common names include German, European, King, Mirror or Leather Carp; German Bass, Buglemouth Bass and Carpe allemande.

Key Characters

This species is characterised by having an elongate dorsal fin with 15-23 branched fin rays, spine-like rays near the dorsal and anal fin origins, 2 pairs of upper jaw barbels unlike the similar Goldfish, 21-27 gill rakers and 3 rows of pharyngeal teeth.

Description

The dorsal fin has the last unbranched ray developed as a toothed spine. The anal fin has a similar spine and 4-6 branched rays. Pectoral fin rays 14-19 and pelvic rays 8-9. Lateral line scales 32-41, when present. Scales may be absent (Leather Carp) or restricted to a few, enlarged scales (Mirror Carp) but Canadian fish are usually fully scaled. Pharyngeal teeth usually 1,1,3-3,1,1 and molar-like. Breeding males have fine tubercles on the head and pectoral fins.

Colour

The back is olive-green, yellowish-brown or grey, the flanks gold or bronze to silvery and the belly yellowish-white. Fins are dusky olive except the anal fin and lower caudal fin lobe may be reddish to orange and have a dark spot at their base. Scales on the upper flank have dark margins and bases. Peritoneum dusky. Faber (1984c) illustrates a larva.

Size

Reaches 121.9 cm and 37.88 kg. The world, all-tackle angling record from France in 1987 weighed 34.35 kg. A 17.5 kg carp measuring 99 cm long is recorded from the Ganaraska River, Ontario but fish over 23 kg are known from Ontario. A 36.48 lbs (16.56 kg) carp from Smiths Falls, south of the NCR, ranked twelfth in the 1998 Northeastern Bowfishing Championship (Bouchard in Kerr, 1999b). A 25 lbs (11.35 kg) carp, 3 feet (91.4 cm) long and 23½inches (59.7 cm) girth, was caught in Dows Lake of the NCR in April 1962 (Anonymous, 1962a), and a fish about 26 lbs (11.8 kg) in the Rideau River in 2002 (Sevitt, 2002).

Distribution

Found in New Brunswick, Québec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia from introductions. First introduced to Canada in the late nineteenth century, as early as 1880 in Ontario. Also introduced world-wide in suitable waters. The native distribution is from eastern Europe to western China.

Origin

The Common Carp is an introduced species to the NCR. Dymond (1939) did not report this species in his Fishes of the Ottawa Region but McCrimmon (1968) recorded it from Pointe Gatineau in 1944. First reported from the Rideau River system in the 1950s (Phelps, 2001).

Habitat

The Common Carp is found in lakes, canals and marshes and slow-moving rivers, and possibly even some sewers in the Ottawa River drainage (http://mywebpage.netscape.com/thewizardoffish/2.htm, downloaded 7 June 2003). Carp avoid fast water in streams. A fish kill involving this species was noted at Mud Lake, Britannia Woods on 12 April 1984 probably from oxygen depletion under ice (Halliday, 1985) and again on 16 April 2003. A fish kill along extensive stretches of the Rideau River and Canal and in Mackay Lake, Rockliffe Cyprinus carpio, Mud Lake, 16 April 2003. Photo: Brian W. Coad. Park was reported in spring 1956 (newspaper reports). Temperatures up to 35.5°C are tolerated and their preferred temperature is 29.7°C. Below about 4°C carp are usually inactive. Carp tolerate turbid and low oxygen conditions. They can often be seen basking at the surface or feeding on algae and their dorsal fins break the water surface. Carp also leap from the water but the reason is unknown. Large fish often move into shallows in the afternoon and evening. They retreat to deeper water in winter but rarely descend below 30 m in lakes. The construction of the Carillon Dam created major impoundments and favourable conditions for carp in the Ottawa River although Qadri and Rubec (1974) found numbers in the river at Ottawa to be relatively low.

Age and Growth

Life span may reach 47 years with males maturing generally at 2-4 years and females at 3-5 years. Most fish live 9-16 years. Growth rates vary markedly, even in adjacent waters.

Food

Mouthfuls of bottom ooze are taken up, spat out and the food items selected. These include aquatic insects, crustaceans, worms and molluscs, and more rarely, fish. Plant material is ground up by the molar pharyngeal teeth and includes algae, seeds, wild rice, leaves and various aquatic plants. Organic sewage is also eaten. Some surface feeding on algal mats or insects will also occur. A wide variety of other fishes and birds eat smaller carp as do predatory aquatic insects, frogs and toads. Carp eggs are eaten by other family members, catfishes and sunfishes. Adult carp are too large for most predators except parasitic lampreys.

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in groups of 1-3 females and 2-15 males in shallow, weedy waters. Temperatures of 17°C or warmer are necessary and the season lasts several days to several weeks. Spawning may occur any time between May and August in Canada and is easily observed with some fish having their backs out of the water and much audible splashing. Eggs adhere to vegetation and are about 2.0 mm in diameter. A large female can contain 2,208,000 white to yellowish eggs. Eggs hatch in 3-12 days, depending on temperature, and larvae are 3.0-5.0 mm long.

Importance

An exotic species, Common Carp are a nuisance because they uproot vegetation used by native species for cover, food and spawning. This activity also increases water turbidity to levels which many native species cannot tolerate. Stirred up silt may also smother eggs of native species. Carp also compete with Largemouth Bass and other species for food. Various methods have been employed to eradicate carp from netting to poisons and electric shockers, usually without success except in the smaller, enclosed ponds and lakes.

In the U.S.A. it is sought by anglers but is not fished for as extensively in Canada although tours from England to Ontario are now available for anglers. Carp are a premium game fish in England with angling societies, newsletters, specialised rods and other gear devoted to this species. Some carp are caught in Canada using bow-fishing, spears or spear-guns and scuba gear. In many parts of the world, carp are raised in ponds and are an important food fish. Commercial fisheries for carp above and below Hull from the Québec side of the Ottawa River is documented by Pluritec (1982b). A commercial fishery in Ontario has taken up to 454,000 kg annually valued at $100,000. The total Canadian catch in 1988 was 780 tonnes. The fish are sold alive, fresh or smoked and are often baked. In recent years carp have been found to harbour high levels of the toxic chemicals PCBs, and in Wisconsin it is recommended that carp not be eaten more than once a week. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources publishes a print and on-line "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish" (www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/) and has advisory limits for eating this species in the Rideau River and South Nation River. Environnement Québec also has recommended limits, in meals per month (1 to 8) for size of fish (small, medium or large), for such areas as Lac Deschênes at Aylmer and Quyon, Deschênes Rapids, the Ottawa River below Gatineau, above Hull, and at Masson, the Lièvre River above and below Buckingham and the Gatineau River at Chelsea, among others (www.menv.gouv.qc.ca, downloaded 13 October 2004). As these limits are apt to change, anglers consuming this fish should consult the most recent version.

Brightly coloured varieties of carp are known as "koi" and are kept as ornamental fish. Colours include red, orange, white, black, blue and yellow in various combinations.

Brassy Minnow / Méné laiton
Hybognathus hankinsoni Hubbs, 1929

Taxonomy

Other common names include Grass Minnow and Hankinson's Minnow.

Key Characters

This species resembles the shiners (genera Cyprinella, Luxilus, Notropis) but has an elongate intestine which has coils on the right, and a subterminal mouth with a diagonal fold running past its corner. It is distinguished from its relative, the Eastern Silvery Minnows, by the rounded dorsal fin, brassy colour, no thin black line along flank and 14-22 radii on scales in the adult.

Description

Dorsal fin branched rays 6-7, usually 7, anal branched rays 5-8, usually 7, pectoral rays 13-15 and pelvic rays 8. Lateral line scales 35-41. Pharyngeal teeth 4-4 with a flat, oblique grinding surface. Males have breeding tubercles on rays 2-8 of the pectoral fin in multiple rows (5 or more distally).

Colour

The back is olive-green to brown with a brassy sheen, the flanks are brassy to dull silvery and the belly cream-white. There is a mid-flank stripe which is best developed from below the dorsal fin posteriorly (and best seen in preserved fish). Scales above the stripe are darkly outlined and form 2 indistinct, zig-zag stripes. There is a mid-dorsal stripe on the back. Dorsal, anal and caudal fins are yellowish and rays are outlined by dark pigment. The dorsal fin membranes are lightly spotted. The anterior pectoral and pelvic fin rays are outlined with dark pigment and the rest of these fins is clear. Some fish have a faint spot at the caudal fin basin. Breeding males become more brassy and fins take on a brassy tinge. Peritoneum jet black to dusky black.

Size

Reaches 15.8 cm standard length.

Distribution

Found in southwestern Québec, southern Ontario, western but not northern or eastern Lake Superior drainages, southwestern Manitoba, Milk River basin of southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta, the Peace River basin in northwestern Alberta and the Athabasca River basin in northeastern Alberta, and in the lower and upper Fraser River and the upper Peace River in British Columbia. In the U.S.A. from New York to Montana and south to Kansas.

Origin

This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium or possibly a Missourian refugium (Mandrak and Crossman, 1992).

Habitat

Brassy Minnows are found in dark, acidic ponds, shallow lakes and small, slow streams which have silt bottoms. Such areas have few or no predators. In the NCR has temperatures of 17-20°C in May-June in these habitats. Some fish are found over sand, gravel, stones or bedrock.

Age and Growth

Maturity may be attained at 1-2 years with some fish reaching 5 years of age.

Food

Food is bottom ooze for the algae, bacteria, protozoa and minute crustaceans, and some aquatic insects. Up to 94% of the food is the algae, such as diatoms and desmids. Plankton may also be taken. Feeding occurs in schools with a peak at 1-3 p.m. in one study.

Reproduction

Spawning probably takes place in May-July in Canada in marshy areas. Eggs are shed at 10°C or higher. Eggs are up to 0.8 mm in diameter, yellow and number 2500. In Wyoming spawning occurred between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., peaking at 2 p.m., in and over vegetation. Males and females aggregate in schools numbering in the thousands. One to 15 males approach a female at the edge of the school and she would respond in one of two ways. She may spiral up and leap out of the water, discouraging the males, or swim to vegetation which would stimulate one or more males to press against her, quiver and release eggs and sperm. The vibrations stir up sediment.

Importance

This minnow is used as bait in the U.S.A. Its distribution in Québec is limited and it could become threatened or vulnerable (www.fapaq.gouv.qc.ca, downloaded 7 October 2002).

Eastern Silvery Minnow / Méné d'argent
Hybognathus regius Girard, 1856

Taxonomy

Another common name is Méné bleu and Méné d'argent de l'est. This species was formerly thought to be the same as the Western Silvery Minnow and both were combined with the Central Silvery Minnow (not in Canada) under the name Hybognathus nuchalis Agassiz, 1855.

Key Characters

This species resembles the shiners (genera Cyprinella, Luxilus, Notropis) but has an elongate intestine which has coils on the right, and a subterminal mouth with a diagonal fold running past its corner. It is distinguished from its relative, the Brassy Minnow, by its falcate dorsal fin, silvery colour, a thin black line along flank (partly over the mid-flank stripe) and 12 or less radii on adult scales below the dorsal fin.

Description

Dorsal fin branched rays 7, anal branched rays 7-8, pectoral rays 14-16 and pelvic rays 7-8. Lateral line scales 38-40. Pharyngeal teeth 4-4 with a flat, grinding surface. Males have breeding tubercles on the head, back, flank scales, particularly abundant on anterior scales, and on both sides of all fins, best developed on the upper pectoral and pelvic fins.

Colour

The back is olive with the flanks silvery and the belly silvery-white. There is a broad stripe along the mid-line of the back. The mid-flank stripe has a sharp upper edge and begins half way between the head and the level of the dorsal fin origin. It extends to the base of the tail fin where it is widened or spot-like. A thin black line runs through the middle of this stripe and then ascends slightly. The preorbital bone of the head has a silvery spot. The lower margin of the caudal fin is white. Dorsal and caudal fin rays and the rear edges of anal rays 2 and 3 are outlined with pigment. Pectoral fin rays 1-7 are also outlined with pigment but the rest of the fin is clear. Pelvic fins clear. Breeding males become yellowish on the flanks and lower fins. Peritoneum black.

Size

Reaches 15.7 cm total length.

Distribution

Found in Lake Ontario drainages, the lower Ottawa and upper St. Lawrence river basins of Ontario and Québec south to Georgia east of the Appalachian Mountains.

Origin

Thi