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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />t <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />t <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />~~ <br /> <br />The razorback sucker has an elongated head with a flattened dorsal surface and a <br />well-developed fontanelle. The moderate-sized ventral mouth has a cleft lower lip, with <br />lateral margins continuous and rounded. Meristics include: dorsal fin rays usually 14- <br />15 (13-16), anal fin rays 7, total vertebrae 45-50, lateral line scales 68-87, and gill <br />rakers 44-50 on the first arch. Pharyngeal teeth are 64-74 per arch and occur in a <br />single row (Minckley 1973, Sublette et al. 1990). <br />Razorback sucker coloration ranges from dark brown to olivaceous dorsally and yellow <br />to white ventrally, but color and morphology differ due to a sexual dimorphism that is <br />especially obvious during reproductive seasons. Breeding males are dark colored <br />dorsally and bright yellow to orange on lateral and ventral surfaces. Pelvic and anal <br />fins are generally longer in males than in females, whereas the reverse is true for the <br />urogenital papillae. Females are generally longer and heavier than males and usually <br />have a broader, or lower dorsal keel (reviewed by Minckley et al 1991). Tubercles are <br />produced as secondary sex characteristics during the breeding season, and are more <br />abundant and pronounced in males. Tubercles occur on the anal and caudal fins and <br />on the ventral surface of the caudal peduncle. <br />Suckers are mainly detritivores or herbivores, and thus occupy a crucial position at the <br />base of the consumer food chain. Although sometimes regarded as "trash,fish," <br />suckers are important food for other fishes and have been widely used for food by <br />humans. Numerous razorback sucker bones have been excavated from prehistoric <br />5 <br /> <br />