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

Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9; Vertebrae: 44 - 46. Mot deep bodied, greatest depth 16.6% (TL), belly gently rounded in mature individuals. Head moderately long, its length 22.8% (TL); eye small in adults, 17.6% of head length, but larger in young 7.6 cm long, when 25.2% of head length; snout long, 33.1% of head length of adults; interorbital width 29.6% of head length; mouth large, extending back to below anterior margin of eye. All fins clear. Pelvic axillary process usually a ridge. Peritoneum present. Nuptial tubercles fine, on head and back, on pectoral and pelvic fins and sometimes on the caudal fin. Dark green or green-brown dorsally becoming silvery white or cream ventrally. The lower fins of the males become yellow or yellow-orange during spawning period.

The northern pike minnow is a much-maligned fish. Biologically it is something of an anomaly — a large, predaceous minnow. Its biology has been reasonably well studied but always with the aim of “controlling” its numbers. The “dwarf” pikeminnows in some lakes on the Bonaparte Plateau may be unique to B.C., but are probably stunted introduced populations

North America: Pacific drainages from Nass River in British Columbia, Canada to Columbia River in Nevada, USA; Harney River basin in Oregon, USA; Peace River system (Arctic basin) in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.