The quillback (Carpiodes cyprinus), also known as the quillback sucker or quillback carpsucker, is a type of freshwater fish of the sucker family widely distributed throughout North America. It is deeper-bodied than most suckers, leading to a fuller-bodied appearance. However, the quillback is not a carp. Quillback are catostomids, and like all catostomids, they do not have barbels around the mouth. The quillback is long-lived, with age up to 30 years found in Florida, and lifespans of 44 - 52 years in Canada, Minnesota, Colorado, and Wisconsin.
Physical description
The quillback is a medium-sized, deep-bodied fish found throughout North America. It has a small head, humped back and deeply forked caudal fin. The compressed body of the quillback makes it look flattened when viewed from the side. The quillback has a subterminal mouth with no barbels, and no nipple-like protrusions on the bottom lip. It has large, reflective, silver cycloid scales that are responsible for giving the quillback its characteristic silver color. They have a white belly with yellow or orange lower fins. The tail and dorsal fin are usually gray or silver. The quillback gets its name from the long quill that is formed via the first several fin rays of the dorsal fin. Quillback are typically 15–20 inches on average, weighing between 1 and 4 pounds. However, they can grow up to 26 inches and weigh 10 pounds. The quillback has a nearly straight, hyper-sensitive lateral line, composed of at least 37 lateral line scales. This helps the fish locate predators and prey.
Distribution, habitat and diet
The quillback is found throughout much of North America, from Saskatchewan to Florida, and from South Dakota to Alabama. The quillback occupies temperate, freshwater habitats. This includes many streams, lakes, channels and rivers. They prefer water that is clear, slow moving, highly productive and moderately deep. The quillback can commonly be found in the Hudson Bay, the Mississippi River basin, the Great Lakes, and drainages from the Delaware, Apalachicola, and Pearl rivers. They often comprise a large portion of the biomass of warmwater rivers, but they are very difficult to catch with traditional American angling methods. The quillback is closely related to the highfin carpsucker and the river carpsucker.
Life history
thumb|A bigmouth buffalo (top) compared to a quillback (bottom). Both of these species are long-lived [[Catostomidae|catostomids A study from Colorado revealed sexual maturity by an age of 3 years, highly variable recruitment, population declines, and longevity approaching 50 years. Fertilization then happens externally, and the eggs are left in quiet water. Since the quillback is oviparous, the eggs are hatched outside of the fish's body. The quillback possesses a polygynandrous mating system, meaning that two or more males have an exclusive sexual relationship with two or more females. Sex ratios may vary significantly by population.