The northern hogsucker (Hypentelium nigricans) is a freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Catostomidae, the suckers.

It prefers clear, fast-flowing water, where it can forage on the riverbed for crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, algae and detritus.

It turns over small pebbles and scrapes materials off rocks and sucks up the particles, and other species of fish sometimes station themselves downstream from its activities.

Its current range is similar to its historical distribution, except in western areas, where it has experienced some extirpations.

Habitat disturbance due to agricultural practices in states such as South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma have contributed to the extirpation events.

[2] The fish can be found in or next to riffle areas in warm water, medium sized creeks and small rivers.

While feeding, it scrapes of the top surface of rubble, turns over stones on the bottom, and sucks the loosened material which contains a variety of small organisms.

found on any state or federal threatened and endangered listings, it is still susceptible to the manmade influences that have affected other freshwater fish species.

[1] The IGFA world record for northern hogsucker is 1.47 kg (3 lb 4 oz) with the fish being caught near St Cloud, Minnesota in 2023.