Fish
Golden Redhorse
Moxostoma erythrurum · also called golden redhorses
Moving upstream over a gravel riffle to spawn, a golden redhorse catches the light with a brassy golden sheen across its sides, one of the more adaptable members of a sucker group that often struggles in water less accommodating than what this particular species can handle.
Overview
The golden redhorse, Moxostoma erythrurum, is a brassy-toned sucker native to streams and rivers across a broad range of eastern and central North America. Its relatively broad tolerance for varied water conditions makes it one of the more commonly encountered and widely distributed redhorse species on the continent.
A hardier member of a sensitive group
While several redhorse relatives require consistently clean, specific stream conditions to thrive, the golden redhorse’s somewhat greater tolerance has let it remain common across a wider range of habitat, a resilience that sets it apart within its own often more particular family group.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and stable across suitable stream and river habitat throughout eastern and central North America.
Golden Redhorse: common questions
Why is it called the golden redhorse?
A golden redhorse displays a brassy golden sheen across the body paired with reddish fins, a distinctive colour combination that gave the species its common name and helps distinguish it from other similarly shaped redhorse relatives.
Is the golden redhorse more common than other redhorse species?
Yes, the golden redhorse ranks among the more widespread and commonly encountered redhorse species across its range, aided by a somewhat broader tolerance for varied water conditions than several more habitat-restricted redhorse relatives.
How does a golden redhorse spawn?
A golden redhorse migrates upstream into gravelly riffle habitat to spawn, scattering eggs directly over the gravel rather than building a nest, a reproductive behaviour shared broadly among redhorse and sucker species generally.
Where does the golden redhorse live?
The golden redhorse is native to streams and rivers across a broad range of eastern and central North America, tolerating a somewhat wider variety of water conditions than several of its redhorse relatives.