E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia

This is a small, plain fish, with a snout that slightly overhangs the lower jaw: the dorsal fin originates in front of the pelvic fin, the mouth is small and the scales are large (37-40 along the lateral line). It lacks maxillary barbels. For further information, refer to McPhail (2008).

The biology of this little fish is a mystery. It is especially abundant in the lower Fraser Valley and headwater ponds and small lakes in the Prince George area. In between it is exceedingly rare. In the lower Fraser Valley it appears to migrate to and from the main river; however, its movements are largely uncharted. All we know is that, seasonally, it turns up in large numbers at some sites and then disappears. The populations in the Esker Provincial Park appear to be extinct. Probably victims of an exotic species (brook trout) introduced to create a recreational fishery.

North America: upper St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain drainages in Quebec, Canada and New York, USA; across Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and Missouri-upper Mississippi River basins of southern Canada and northern USA south to Kansas; Peace River (Ref. 1998) and Fraser River system (Pacific Slope) in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.