Name:

Shorthead Redhorse

 

Other Common Names:

Redfin, redfin sucker, red sucker, redhorse mullet, common mullet, shorthead mullet, mullet, bigscale sucker, common redhorse, northern redhorse, Des Moines Plunger

 

Scientific Name:

Moxostoma macrolepidotum

 

Diet:

Feed on insects and small mollusks

 

Habitat:

Prefers clear rivers and medium-sized streams with gravelly riffles and permanent pools

 

Length:

Average is 11 inches

 

Identification:

Body is long, slender, and compressed. Back is dark to tan olive with sides olive yellow and body whitish. Caudal and dorsal fins pale to bright red while paired fins are salmon to reddish orange. Anal fin is orange to red with white edge. Scales have dark spots at base

 

Photo & text courtesy of:

Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Iowa Fish and Fishing by James R. Harlan and Everett B. Speaker with James Mayhew; color illustrations by Maynard F. Reece

Fishes of Wisconsin by George C. Becker

Fishes of Indiana published by Indiana Department of Conservation, Division of Fish and Game (1964)

 

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