The June sucker, Chasmistes liorus, is an endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 of fish endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 to Utah Lake

Utah Lake

Utah Lake is a freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Utah. On the western side of Utah Valley, the lake is overlooked by Mount Timpanogos and Mount Nebo. The lake's only river outlet, the Jordan River, is a tributary of the Great Salt Lake and is highly regulated with pumps. Evaporation accounts...

 and the Provo River, where it is now under protection. It is a member of the sucker family Catostomidae

Catostomidae

Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...

, and occurs in sympatry with the benthic Utah sucker

Utah sucker

The Utah Sucker, Catostomus ardens, is a sucker of the family Catostomidae found in the upper Snake River and the Lake Bonneville areas of western North America....

 Catostomus ardens.

Unlike most other suckers, the June sucker is not a bottom-feeder. Its mouth is more rostrally

Rostrum (anatomy)

The term rostrum is used for a number of unrelated structures in different groups of animals:*In crustaceans, the rostrum is the forward extension of the carapace in front of the eyes....

-oriented, allowing it to collect zooplankton

Zooplankton

Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...

 from the water. The fish is dark gray or brownish dorsally

Dorsum (biology)

In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...

, with a white or slightly greenish belly. It can reach a weight of 5 lb and has a life span of over 40 years.

This species was once plentiful in its native lake. Some contributions to its decline include predation on its young by introduced species such as the common carp

Common carp

The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...

 and walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, pollution and turbidity

Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality....

, drought, alteration of water flow, and loss of some native vegetation.

Biologists have been rearing the June sucker in Red Butte Reservoir

Red Butte Creek

Red Butte Creek is a small stream whose headwaters are found in the northeast part of Salt Lake County. It flows west through the Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, by the University of Utah, Fort Douglas and flows southwesterly through Salt Lake City’s Liberty Park before forming a confluence with...

, and more recently in the Springville, Utah

Springville, Utah

Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 20,424 at the 2000 census, while the 2008 estimates placed it at 28,520. Just minutes south of Provo, Springville is a bedroom community for...

 fish hatchery

Fish hatchery

A fish hatchery is a "place for artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of animals, finfish and shellfish in particular". Hatcheries produce larval and juvenile fish primarily to support the aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems...

 which had been closed due to an outbreak of whirling disease. As whirling disease does not affect June sucker, the hatchery was reopened to house the June sucker. After the June sucker grow to a certain size, they are released into Utah Lake to help build the population.

The June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program coordinates and implements recovery actions for the June sucker.