Razorback sucker

[ XYRAUCHEN TEXANUS ]

The languid and gentle razorback sucker has been around for at least 5 million years, long enough to become exquisitely adapted to its ancestral home along the Colorado River in eastern California. During winter floods, suckers use their strangely keeled heads to hold steady against the surging current as they seek flooded backwaters to mate and lay eggs. In December, males gather in shallows to await the arrival of females starting in January, when groups of up to 12 attentive suitors will follow each female as she prepares a gravel bed for her 36,000 to 140,000 eggs. Juveniles and adults

take advantage of these slow-moving waters

to find a smorgasbord of algae and organic

detritus to dine on.

NATURAL HISTORY

The razorback sucker once was perhaps the most abundant fish on the Colorado River, numbering in the millions and supporting commercial fisheries. The fish was a model of success, living up to 50 years, laying huge batches of eggs and thriving in reservoirs. But the species was driven nearly to extinction. Today a habitat restoration program aims to turn the tide for the once plentiful razorback, though it will require major changes in river management for natural, self-sustaining populations to live on the lower Colorado River again.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

Just over a foot long, with a characteristic hump peaking over its head; blackish above and creamy yellow below, with colors intensifying in the

breeding season.