Gray Redhorse

Moxostoma congestum

Catostomidae · freshwater water fish

2 minute read · Species guide

Gray Redhorse field guide illustration

About Gray Redhorse

The gray redhorse (Moxostoma congestum) is a species of freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States.

Diet and feeding

The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: aquatic or other vascular plants; invertebrates or larval fish. These are broad categories, not a claim that every individual consumes every example in a category.

Reported feeding positions include bottom feeding. The compilation combines published observations; diets can vary with age, locality, and available food.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include medium to large rivers, streams and small rivers.

The source records associations with sand, gravel. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 4 years. Its maturity field summarizes mean, median, or modal estimates, usually for females; male estimates can be used when female data are unavailable. It is not a fixed age at which every fish first breeds.

Recorded spawning months are Mar, Apr for the source’s reporting region (TX). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

The reproductive-guild classification includes spawning on open substrates without guarding the brood.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 65 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Recorded longevity in the compilation is 6 years. Wild observations were preferred, but captive records were accepted where wild records were unavailable, and unspecified records were assumed wild. The value is not a guaranteed wild lifespan or an aquarium life expectancy.

Range

Where it lives

Share of 2,062 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.
0%
96.2%
Share of 2,062 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.

A blank area on the dot layer usually means nobody sampled there, not that the fish is absent. Turn on “every survey site” to see where the survey looked.

Share of records by state

The USGS stream survey caught it at 42 of its sites, in 2 states. That survey and the GBIF records are two different counts of two different things, so the site keeps them apart.

Habitat

Water and movement

Water
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
USGS NAS habitat
Freshwater
US status
Native transplant — native to part of the United States, moved to other waters inside it.
Migration
Migratory
Pattern

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Superclass
Actinopterygii
Class
Teleostei
Order
Cypriniformes
Genus
Moxostoma
Species
Moxostoma congestum
ITIS TSN
163931
WoRMS AphiaID
1021624
GBIF key
2358988

Common questions about Gray Redhorse

What is the scientific name of Gray Redhorse?
The scientific name is Moxostoma congestum, in the family Catostomidae. Classification follows ITIS.
Does Gray Redhorse live in fresh water or salt water?
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Where has Gray Redhorse been recorded in the United States?
GBIF has observations in 2 states, with the most records in Texas, New Mexico. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives

Other Moxostoma species

Same family

More Catostomidae

Alabama Hog Sucker6 states
Hypentelium etowanumCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Bigeye Jumprock3 states
Moxostoma ariommumCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Bigmouth Buffalo26 states
Ictiobus cyprinellusCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Black Buffalo26 states
Ictiobus nigerCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Black Redhorse
Moxostoma duquesneiCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Blackfin Sucker2 states
Thoburnia atripinnisCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Blacktail Redhorse9 states
Moxostoma poecilurumCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Blacktip Jumprock7 states
Moxostoma cervinumCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Blue Sucker22 states
Cycleptus elongatusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Bluehead Sucker7 states
Pantosteus discobolusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Bridgelip Sucker5 states
Catostomus columbianusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Creek Chubsucker31 states
Erimyzon oblongusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Cui-ui2 states
Chasmistes cujusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Desert Sucker9 states
Pantosteus clarkiiCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Flannelmouth Sucker8 states
Catostomus latipinnisCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Golden Redhorse29 states
Moxostoma erythrurumCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Greater Jumprock4 states
Moxostoma lachneriCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
Greater Redhorse11 states
Moxostoma valenciennesiCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Green Sucker4 states
Pantosteus virescensCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Highfin Carpsucker23 states
Carpiodes veliferCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh
June Sucker1 states
Chasmistes liorusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Klamath Largescale Sucker2 states
Catostomus snyderiCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Klamath Smallscale Sucker2 states
Catostomus rimiculusCatostomidaeNativeFresh
Lake Chubsucker26 states
Erimyzon sucettaCatostomidaeNative and introducedFresh

All 67 species in Catostomidae