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C r, 1 0 Flannehnouth Sucker Except for speckled dace, Catostamus latipinnis was and probably is the most widely distributed and abundant native fish in the CRB (Gaufin et al. 1960, Holden and Stalnaker 1975a, McAda 1977). As a member of Catostomidae, flannelmouth suckers are not widely sought by anglers or known to the general public (Bosley 1960, Binns et al. 1963, Quartarone 1995). The species is generally known only to ichthyologists and resource managers. Taxonomy-Since Baird and Girard (1853x) described C. latipinnis from samples taken from the San Pedro River, Arizona, taxonomy of the species has been fairly stable. Relatively complete synonymies are presented by Minckley (1973} and La Rivers (1994). The specific name latipinnis means broad fin (La Rivers 1994). Dobberfuhl (1995) and Douglas and Douglas (2002} identified the undescribed Catastomus spp. of the upper Little Colorado River Basin (Minckley 1973) as C. latipinnis using mtDNA techniques. Physical description--Flannelmouth suckers are distinguished from other CRB suckers by their large fins, elongate body with narrow caudal peduncle, small and numerous scales along the lateral line, and the large, fleshy lobes of the lower lip (Sigler and Miller 1963). A description is presented below using information from Koster (1957), Sigler and Miller (1963), Jordan and Evermann (1969), Minckley (1973), Scoppettone (1988), Snyder and Muth (1990), La Rivers (1994), Baxter and Stone (1995), Sigler and Sigler (1996), Douglas and Marsh (1998), and Weiss et al. (1998). Notation of meristics is the same as for roundtail chub. The flannelmouth sucker is streamlined, with amedium-sized head, tapering body, and narrow caudal peduncle (Figure 9). A prominent snout precedes a ventral mouth with large, well-developed lips. The lower lip typically has one row of papillae and is deeply incised to the jaw. The upper lip may have five to eight rows of papillae. Eyes are small Final Report September 2002 34