Couesius
1 species
The lake chub (Couesius plumbeus) is a freshwater cyprinid fish found in Canada and in parts of the United States. Of all North American minnows, it is the one with the northernmost distribution. Its genus, Couesius is considered monotypic today. The genus was named after Elliott Coues, who collected the holotype specimen.
The lake chub is generally found throughout Canada up to the Arctic Circle. Some scattered populations are also present in the northern United States, more precisely in New England, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, Idaho and Utah. The lake chub is also the only minnow known to live in Alaska. Its range also includes Lake Michigan in Illinois and the Platte River system in Wyoming. There are relict populations of the lake chub in the upper Missouri River drainage.
As its common name implies, the lake chub is most commonly found in cold-water lakes with clean gravel, and it can also live in cold-water rivers and streams. It often lives in shallows, but during mid-summer, it may move to the deeper parts of a lake to avoid the warmer waters of the lake shore.
The lake chub (Couesius plumbeus) is a freshwater cyprinid fish found in Canada and in parts of the United States. Of all North American minnows, it is the one with the northernmost distribution. Its genus, Couesius is considered monotypic today. The genus was named after Elliott Coues, who collected the holotype specimen.
The lake chub is generally found throughout Canada up to the Arctic Circle. Some scattered populations are also present in the northern United States, more precisely in New England, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, Idaho and Utah. The lake chub is also the only minnow known to live in Alaska. Its range also includes Lake Michigan in Illinois and the Platte River system in Wyoming. There are relict populations of the lake chub in the upper Missouri River drainage.
As its common name implies, the lake chub is most commonly found in cold-water lakes with clean gravel, and it can also live in cold-water rivers and streams. It often lives in shallows, but during mid-summer, it may move to the deeper parts of a lake to avoid the warmer waters of the lake shore.
