white sucker
Catostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1803)
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.
White Sucker, Catostomus commersonii
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Open encyclopedia reference
The white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, though it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is commonly known as a "sucker" due to its fleshy, papillose lips that suck up organic matter and aufwuchs from the bottom of rivers and streams.
Other common names for the white sucker include bay fish, brook sucker, common sucker, and mullet. The white sucker is often confused with the longnose sucker (C. catostomus), because they look very similar.
Wikipedia contributors, White sucker; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:59:52.818834+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Catostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1803)
- Name authority
- (Lacepède, 1803)
- Common name
- white sucker
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Catostomidae
- Genus
- Catostomus
- 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
- genusCatostomus Lesueur, 1817
- speciesCatostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1803)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Catostomus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| bridgelip suckerCatostomus columbianus (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1893) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catostomus fumeiventris Miller, 1973 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fleshylip SuckerCatostomus leopoldi Siebert & Minckley, 1986 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catostomus microps Rutter, 1908 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catostomus rimiculus Gilbert & Snyder, 1898 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catostomus snyderi Gilbert, 1898 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catostomus tahoensis Gill & Jordan, 1878 | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catostomus utawana Mather, 1886 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Cyprinus teres Mitchill, 1814 Mitchill, 1814 | synonym |
| Catostomus commersoni (Lacepède, 1803) (Lacepède, 1803) | synonym |
| Catostomus commersonii commersonii (Lacepède, 1803) (Lacepède, 1803) | synonym |
| Catostomus commersonnii commersonnii (Lacepède, 1803) (Lacepède, 1803) | synonym |
| Catostomus teres (Mitchill, 1814) (Mitchill, 1814) | synonym |
| Cyprinus commersonnii Lacepède, 1803 Lacepède, 1803 | synonym |
| Catostomus bostoniensis Lesueur, 1817 Lesueur, 1817 | synonym |
| Catostomus commersonnii (Lacepède, 1803) (Lacepède, 1803) | synonym |
| Catostomus communis Lesueur, 1817 Lesueur, 1817 | synonym |
| Catostomus richardsoni Harper & Nichols, 1919 Harper & Nichols, 1919 | 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=158707 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.
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:RW42. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.