Robust redhorse

Taxobox
name = "Moxostoma robustum"

---

image_width = 200px
image_caption = A drawing of a male robust redhorse.
status =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Cypriniformes
familia = Catostomidae
genus = "Moxostoma"
species = "M. robusta "
binomial = "Moxostoma robustum "
binomial_authority = Cope, 1870
synonyms =
*"Ptychostomus robustus "

The Robust Redhorse ("Moxostoma robustum"), also known as the Smallfin Redhorse, is a redhorse that lives in the freshwater streams of the eastern United States.

Taxonomy

Using a convert|6|lb|kg|1|adj=on|lk=on specimen from the Yadkin River of North Carolina, naturalist Edward Drinker Cope first described the Robust Redhorse in 1870.citeweb
url=http://www.robustredhorse.com/
title=www.robustredhorse.com
accessdate=2008-07-11] The original specimen was lost or destroyed, and by the late 19th century, all mention of the Robust Redhorse had ceased. It was thought to be extinct citeweb
url=http://coopunit.forestry.uga.edu/unit_homepage/fisheries/redhorse
title=coopunit.forestry.uga.edu
accessdate=2008-07-11] until several unidentified fish specimens were collected from the Savannah River and Pee Dee River in 1980 and 1985. In August 1991, biologists with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, officially rediscovered the species when five specimens of the fish were collected in the Oconee River, and identified as Robust Redhorse.

Description

"M. robustum" is a large, fairly long-living animal compared to other members of its family;citeweb
url=http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/red.htm
title= United States Army Corps of Engineers entry on Robust redhorse
accessdate=2008-07-08] the fish can weigh up to convert|17|lb|kg|1| and live for up to 27 years , although it averages convert|25|in|cm|lk=on in length and convert|9|lb|kg|1| in weight. "M. robustum"'s body is thick, or "robust", its fins are rose-colored, and it has a fleshy lower lip.

Distribution and habitat

"M. robustum" is found in the eastern United States from the Cape Fear River drainage in North Carolina and Virginia's Peedee River drainage, south to the Oconee River system, part of Georgia's Altamaha River drainage.citeweb
url=http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3012
title=Fishbase.org entry on Robust redhorse
accessdate=2008-06-02] They live in both rocky and silty pools or less turbulent areas of small and medium rivers, and are also found in reservoirs and other water impoundments.

References

External links

*http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3
*http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/red.htm
*http://coopunit.forestry.uga.edu/unit_homepage/fisheries/redhorse
*http://www.robustredhorse.com/