Other Names: Plains Sucker, Mountain Sucker, Northern Mountain Sucker

The Plains Sucker (formerly called the Mountain Sucker) is a small, slender species of sucker that lives in the mountain west.  It can be found in western North America, from the extreme western Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming to Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and northern California.  In Canada, it occupies the southern portions of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.  The Mountain Sucker lives in riffles of cold, clear streams, where it feeds on algae, aquatic plants, and invertebrates. Male mountain suckers, like many sucker species, may develop a dusky red lateral stripe during the spawn. This is a petite sucker species that barely reaches 1 pound in weight.