Sand Roller

Percopsis transmontana

Percopsidae · freshwater water fish

2 minute read · Species guide

Sand Roller field guide illustration

About Sand Roller

Percopsis transmontana, the sand roller, is a species of percopsiform fish endemic to the Columbia River drainage in the northwestern United States. This species grows to a length of 9.6 centimetres (3.8 in) TL. Sand rollers can live up to 6 years in slow-moving, sandy-bottomed streams and rivers among vegetation. Their diet includes flies and Trichoptera, although juveniles also have been known to eat crustacean zooplankton.

Diet and feeding

The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: 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 and surface or water-column 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, vegetation. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1.5 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 Jun, Jul for the source’s reporting region (WA). 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 9.6 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 4 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 162 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 3 states.
0%
78.4%
Share of 162 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 3 states.

Share of records by state

Habitat

Water and movement

Water
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Migration
Undetermined

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Superclass
Actinopterygii
Class
Teleostei
Order
Percopsiformes
Genus
Percopsis
Species
Percopsis transmontana
ITIS TSN
164410
WoRMS AphiaID
1467848
GBIF key
2401707

Common questions about Sand Roller

What is the scientific name of Sand Roller?
The scientific name is Percopsis transmontana, in the family Percopsidae. Classification follows ITIS.
Does Sand Roller live in fresh water or salt water?
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Where has Sand Roller been recorded in the United States?
GBIF has observations in 3 states, with the most records in Oregon, Washington, Idaho. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives

Other Percopsis species

Same family

More Percopsidae