Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus), recorded as Endangered
Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Lost River sucker

Deltistes luxatus

This fish is one of the largest suckers, capable of reaching 86 cm (34 in) in length.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Deltistes luxatus
Taxonomy
Cypriniformes · Catostomidae · Deltistes

Appearance

It can be identified by its long snout with a small hump on top. It is dark on the back and sides and whitish or yellowish on the belly.

This fish is one of the largest suckers, capable of reaching 86 cm (34 in) in length.

Range and habitat

Spawning occurs in March, April, and May. This fish is endemic to the Upper Klamath Basin straddling the border between southern Oregon and northern California. Its distribution included Upper Klamath Lake, its tributaries, and most of the creeks that drain into it, as well as the Lost River, Tule Lake, Lower Klamath Lake, Sheepy Lake, and Clear Lake.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

In crisis

Dams also created habitat fragmentation and restricted the movement of the fish, isolating populations from one another. Introduced fish species in the area include brown bullhead, fathead minnow, yellow perch, Sacramento perch, pumpkinseed, bluegill, green sunfish, largemouth bass, and brown trout. It is too early to know whether these interventions will increase populations of the sucker.

Lost River sucker is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Lost River sucker, Wikidata item Q307074. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Sumatran orangutan

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Axolotl

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Quick answers

What is Lost River sucker?
This fish is one of the largest suckers, capable of reaching 86 cm (34 in) in length.
What is the conservation status of Lost River sucker?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Deltistes luxatus. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Lost River sucker live?
Today, the fish can be found in Upper Klamath Lake and its tributaries, Clear Lake and its tributaries, Tule Lake, part of the Lost River below the Anderson-Rose Dam, and part of the Klamath River.
Why is Lost River sucker in crisis?
Dams also created habitat fragmentation and restricted the movement of the fish, isolating populations from one another.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Deltistes luxatus?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Lost River sucker a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.