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More about Fishes

Extirpated (COSEWIC, SARO)
Small minnow, maximum length 8 cm. Silvery colour with an olive-green back, W’s and X’s along its sides.
Prefers clear, moderately flowing streams with a gravelly bottom.
Recorded only twice in Canada, both from the Thames River with the last occurring in1958. Siltation and increased turbidity may be the main causes of this fish's extirpation from Canada.

Northern Madtom (Noturus stigmosus)

Endangered (COSEWIC and SARO)
Small member of the catfish family, maximum length 13 cm. Mottled colour pattern with three irregular dark saddles on the back.
Found in large creeks and rivers with clear to turbid waters, moderate to swift currents and a variety of bottom types.
This species is globally rare and disappearing from the edge of its range. In Canada it is known only from Lake St. Clair and the Detroit and Thames Rivers. Few records exist for the northern madtom in the Thames as it is a small, secretive fish that is difficult to sample.

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Threatened (COSEWIC and SARO)
Small sucker, maximum length 25 to 33 cm. Back is grey to olive brown, sides are bluish silver.
Found in medium-sized rivers with sand, gravel and bedrock substrates and minimal siltation.
In Canada, the black redhorse has been reported in the watersheds of the Catfish, Grand, Thames and Maitland rivers. Breeding populations are known from the Grand and Thames Rivers. Populations are limited to areas of specialized habitat, and may decline following damming.
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Threatened (COSEWIC) and Endangered (SARO)
Small darter, maximum length 8 cm. Easily distinguished from other darters by slender, elongate, translucent body.
Found almost exclusively in sandy-bottomed areas of streams and rivers where it often buries itself with only its head exposed.
The eastern sand darter occurs in lakes Erie and St. Clair and several rivers in southwestern Ontario and Quebec including the lower Thames River. Populations have declined throughout its range due to siltation, sand bar removal, dams and pollution.

Grass Pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus)

Special Concern (COSEWIC and SARO)
Small member of the Pike Family, usually less than 30 cm in length with numerous dark wavy vertical bars on a light greenish-brown background and a dark cross marking through the eye.
Preferred habitat shallow wetlands with abundant vegetation.
In Canada, the Grass Pickerel occurs in Ontario and Quebec. Within Ontario, it occurs in tributaries of: the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and Lake Huron; in Lake St. Clair and its tributaries; and inland in the Severn River system.

Northern Brook Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor)

Special Concern (COSEWIC and SARO)
Small, non-parasitic lamprey, average length 15 cm. Long slender body with two back fins joined and continuous with the oval tail fin. Mouth is a small sucking disk. Dark back, grey or silver sides, orange or silver belly, grey or black tail, bluish eye.
Inhabits streams and small rivers, spawns in gravel areas.
In Canada, the northern brook lamprey occurs in the Great Lakes Basin, some areas of the St. Lawrence River, and Manitoba's Nelson River

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Pugnose Minnow (Opsopoeodus emiliae)

Special Concern (COSEWIC and SARO)
Small minnow, maximum length 6 cm. Silver in colour with distinctive, very small, upturned mouth.
Prefers clear, slow-moving waters with abundant vegetation and clay, silt or mud bottom.
In Canada, the pugnose minnow is at the northern edge of its range and is restricted to a small area in southwestern Ontario including the lower Thames.

River Redhorse (Moxostoma carinatum)

Special Concern (COSEWIC and SARO)
A thick-bodied sucker with large scales, a large, flat-topped head and prominent snout and reddish lower fins and tail.
Prefers clear, fast-flowing rivers
In Canada, it occurs in Quebec and Ontario where it has been found in Lake Ontario, Trent, Grand and Thames Rivers, and the Ottawa, Mississippi, and Madawaska Rivers in eastern Ontario.

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Silver Shiner (Notropis photogenis)

Special Concern (COSEWIC and SARO)
Small minnow, 5 to 7 cm in length. Slender with silvery-blue sides.
Inhabits medium to large streams with clear deep waters and swift currents.
The silver shiner occurs in the Thames and Grand Rivers and several western Lake Ontario tributaries. The Canadian populations appear to be stable or increasing. The silver shiner is found the main Thames in the London area and several upstream tributaries.

Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops)

Special Concern (COSEWIC and SARO)
A medium-sized silvery sucker distinguished by 8-10 horizontal rows of dark spots.
Prefers slow-flowing, clear streams and rivers but apparently tolerates turbid conditions.
Found only in extreme Southwestern Ontario, primarily in recent sampling of Lake St. Clair and its tributaries. Recorded in the Thames at several locations from the Lake St. Clair outlet to the “Forks of the Thames” in London.