Sacramento Pikeminnow

The Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis) is native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin, Pajaro-Salinas, Russian, Clear Lake, and upper Pit River drainages in California. Younger individuals are silvery with a dark spot where the caudal fin meets the caudal peduncle (or end of the fish’s body). Older individuals develop a dark brown or olive-green color with gold-yellow bellies. While the inclusion of ‘minnow’ in their common name may suggest these fish are small, they can grow up to three feet long, compared to the average minnow fish size range of 2 to 5 centimeters. Pikeminnow are efficient predators and readily consume juvenile salmon – to the point where Oregon and Washington have incentivized northern pikeminnow bounty fishing. The idea of elevated pikeminnow predation on salmonids sparked concern for negative impacts to their populations; however, previous FISHBIO work has found less impact on native salmonids compared to impacts from nonnative predators.

Fun Fact: Like many minnows of the Cyprinid family, Sacramento pikeminnows completely lack teeth in their mouths, but do have them in the back of their throats. Teeth located there are called pharyngeal teeth, and are surprisingly common in many fish species.