Pantosteus plebeius (Baird & Girard, 1854)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Rio Grande sucker (Pantosteus plebeius) is a North American freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It has a typical bottom-feeding phenotype and fills lower trophic levels alongside Rio Grande cutthroat trout and Rio Grande chub species. It is smaller sized in comparison to its other family members, with females being the larger between sexes. Coloration tends to benefit the species due to counter-shading patterns. It is endemic to the Rio Grande basin and was once common throughout. The species has maintained a population in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Northern Mexico, but has faced challenges from the pressure of non-native species, habitat loss, degradation, and a variety of other aquatic ecosystem changes. There is current pressure from environmental organizations to federally list the species as threatened or endangered.
Formerly placed in the genus Catostomus, it is now placed in the genus Pantosteus.
Wikipedia contributors, Rio Grande sucker; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:30:03.427771+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pantosteus plebeius (Baird & Girard, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Baird & Girard, 1854)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Catostomidae
- Genus
- Pantosteus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCatostomidae Agassiz, 1850
- subfamilyCatostominae Agassiz, 1850
- tribeCatostomini Agassiz, 1850
- genusPantosteus Cope in Cope & Yarrow, 1875
- speciesPantosteus plebeius (Baird & Girard, 1854)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pantosteus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Pantosteus discobolus (Cope, 1871) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pantosteus santaanae Snyder, 1908 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pantosteus nebuliferus (Garman, 1881) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pantosteus clarkii (Baird & Girard, 1854) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pantosteus jordani Evermann, 1895 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pantosteus platyrhynchus (Cope, 1874) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Catostomus plebeius Baird & Girard, 1854 Baird & Girard, 1854 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1848454 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:RB22P. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.