---
title: "Sacramento Pikeminnow"
description: "Ptychocheilus grandis — Fish. The Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis), formerly known as the Sacramento squawfish, is a large species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the daces, chubs, Eurasian minnows and related species."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/sacramento-pikeminnow
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Sacramento Pikeminnow

> Ptychocheilus grandis — Fish. The Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis), formerly known as the Sacramento squawfish, is a large species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the daces, chubs, Eurasian minnows and related species.

- Scientific name: *Ptychocheilus grandis*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 1364
- Wikidata: [Q148853](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q148853)
- iNaturalist taxon: [68072](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/68072)

## Names

- en: Sacramento Pikeminnow

## Countries with the most observations

US (913)

## Summary

The Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis), formerly known as the Sacramento squawfish, is a large species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the daces, chubs, Eurasian minnows and related species. This species is endemic to California in the United States. It is native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin, Pajaro-Salinas, Russian River, Clear Lake and upper Pit River river basins. It is predatory and reaches up to 1.4 m (4.6 ft) in total length.
The species has been introduced into the Salt River, where it is considered an invasive species.
The species was introduced to the Eel River…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento_pikeminnow

## Photo

![Sacramento Pikeminnow](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/sacramento-pikeminnow/medium.jpg)

Photo: Rene Reyes - Bureau of Reclamation · Public domain · commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pytocheilus_grandis.jpg

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/sacramento-pikeminnow?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).