Abstract

During the period from October 1950 to March 1951 a study of the taxonomy of the Catostomidae of Utah Lake was undertaken. Throughout this study information was collected on the numbers of suckers taken by some of the fisherman. From the data gathered it appears that the three species of Catostomidae cringinally named from Utah Lake are still there. The external morphological features of these fish are not recognizable unless they are observed very carefully. The most outstanding external characteristics used to differentiate the species are the mouth, lips, papillae on the lips and the general shape of the head. The three species that occur in the lake are Chasmistes liorus, Catostomus fecundus and catostomus ardens. The population counts on these fish showed that the suckers have increased in numbers since the drought of 1934-5 but by no means have reached the point that they held previous to that time. Utah Lake was known during pioneer days as a great sucker pond. The carp, Cyprinus carpio, is the dominant fish in Utah Lake today. This thesis was written in an effort to stabalize the classification of the Catostomidae in Utah Lake, and also to provide data as to the population of the suckers at the present time.

Degree

College and Department

Life Sciences; Plant and Wildlife Sciences

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