Montana Field Guide

Help

Montana Field Guides

Home - Other Field Guides
- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Vertebrates - Craniata
    - Class - Fish - Actinopterygii
      - Order - Goldeyes - Hiodontiformes
        
        Family - Mooneyes - Hiodontidae
        
        Species - Goldeye - Hiodon alosoides

Goldeye - Hiodon alosoides

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5
(see State Rank Reason below)

Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:

External Links

State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)

Species is stable and does not face significant threats

Goldeye (Hiodon alosoides) Conservation Status Summary
State Rank: S5
Review Date = 03/05/2024
How we calculate Conservation Status

See the complete Conservation Status Report

General Description

Members of the Mooneye family are moderately sized fishes with deep, flat-sided bodies covered by large silvery scales. They resemble herrings. They have large, reflective eyes with rods only, no cones. This makes them uniquely adapted to see under low light conditions but they cannot detect colors.

Diagnostic Characteristics

Large scales. Dorsal fin situated about the same distance posteriorly as the anal fin. Well-developed teeth on jaws, roof of mouth, and tongue.

Species Range

Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Number of Observations: 1268

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions

Relative Density

Recency

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Migration

May make extensive migrations to spawn in tributary streams.

Habitat

This is a species of the Large Valley and Large Prairie Rivers ecological systems, occasionally getting up into Medium prairie rivers and reservoirs that have direct connections; adapted to turbid water. Prefers calm waters for spawning and incubation.

Food Habits

Mostly insects; crustaceans, mollusks, and small fish also.

Ecology

Young of year goldeye in middle Missouri River prefer backwater and side channel pool habitats as rearing areas.

Reproductive Characteristics

Spawns from late March through May. Sex mature at 3-4 yrs. Spawns in schools, eggs semi-buoyant. Spawned first in May in middle Missouri River.

Stewardship Responsibility

Based on the Montana Natural Heritage Program's latest predicted habitat suitability model

Total species' range in Montana	89,290 km²	(23% of Montana)
Area predicted to have some level of suitable habitat	12,751 km²	(3% of Montana)

Stewardship responsibility for 1-square mile hexagons intersecting predicted occupied stream reaches and standing water bodies is broken down as follows

	Total Suitable	Suitable (native range)
Federal	18%	18%
State	5%	5%
Local	<1%	<1%
Conservation Lands/Easements	2%	2%
Private/Tribal/Unknown	75%	75%

See the Habitat Suitability for Biodiversity task in Map Viewer for a more detailed look at stewardship responsibilities within a variety of local jurisdictions.

References

Literature Cited AboveLegend: View Online Publication
- Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Musuem of Natural History. 867 p.
- Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Rainbow trout, Kamloops trout, Steelhead trout Salmo gairdneri Richardson. pp. 184-191. In: Freshwater fishes of Canada. Ottawa, Canada: Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 p.
Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?
- Barfoot, C.A. 1993. Longitudinal distribution of fishes and habitat in Little Beaver Creek, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 66 p.
- Barfoot, C.A. and R.G. White. 1999. Fish assemblages and habitat relationships in a small northern Great Plains stream. The Prairie Naturalist 31(2):87-107.
- Clancey, C.G. 1978. The fish and aquatic invertebrates in Sarpy Creek, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 54 p.
- Cooper, J. L. 1973.Vertical distribution patterns of Goldeye, Hiodon alosoides, in Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana. Fishery Bulletin 71(2):473-478.
- Craig, V.E. 1952. A story of fish production as it applies to Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 92 p.
- Dieterman, D.J., M.P. Ruggles, M.L. Wildhaber, and D.L. Galat (eds). 1996. Population structure and habitat use of benthic fishes along the Missouri and Lower Yellowstone Rivers. 1996 Annual report of Missouri River Benthic Fish Study PD-95-5832 to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 238 p.
- Duncan, M.B. 2019. Distributions, abundances, and movements of small, nongame fishes in a large Great Plains river network. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 255 p.
- Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc. 2000. Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc., Whitehall, MT. Annual Permit Reports.
- Hendricks, P., S. Lenard, D.M. Stagliano, and B.A. Maxell. 2013. Baseline nongame wildlife surveys on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Report to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 83 p.
- Hill, W.J. 1965. Observations on the life history and movement of the goldeye, Hiodon alosoides in Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 13 p.
- Holton, G.D. 1981. Identification of Montana's most common game and sport fishes. Montana Outdoors May/June reprint. 8 p.
- Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
- Land & Water Consulting, Inc. 2002. Montana Dept. of Transportation Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Report. Year 2001: Creston Site, Creston, Montana. Project No. 130091.007. July 2002. In 2001 Wetland Mitigation Monitoring Reports, Vol. I.
- Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. 1989. Northeast Montana Warmwater Ecosystem Investigations: project period 7/1/88 through 6/30/89. Proj.# F-46-R-2; Job# V-e. 21p.
- Mullen, J.A. 2007. Spatiotemporal variation of fish assemblages in Montana prairie streams. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 102 p.
- Mullins, M.S. 1991. Biology and predator use of cisco (Coregonus artedi) in Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 68 p.
- Rosenthal, L.R. 2007. Evaluation of distribution and fish passage in relation to road culverts in two eastern Montana prairie streams. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 78 p.
- Stash, S.W. 2001. Distribution, relative abundance, and habitat associations of Milk River fishes related to irrigation diversion dams. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 82 p.
- Stevenson, H.R. 1975. The trout fishery of the Bighorn River below Yellowtail Dam, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 67 p.
- Stringer, A.L. 2018. Status of Northern Pearl Dace and chrosomid dace in prairie streams of Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 150 p.
- Trenka, R.J. 2000. Community structure and habitat associations of fishes of the lower Tongue and Powder Rivers. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 85 p.
- USDI Bureau of Land Management. No date. Fishes of the Miles city, Montana BLM District. Miles City, MT: Miles City BLM District pamphlet. 12 p.
- Wuellner, M.R. 2007. Influence of reach and watershed characteristics on fish distributions in small streams of eastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 80 p.
- Young, B.A., T.L. Welker, M.L. Wildhaber, C.R. Berry, and D. Scarnecchia (eds). 1997. Population structure and habitat use of benthic fishes along the Missouri and Lower Yellowstone Rivers. 1997 Annual report of Missouri River Benthic Fish Study PD-95-5832 to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 207 p.
Web Search Engines for Articles on "Goldeye"
Additional Sources of Information Related to "Fish"

Citation for data on this website:
Goldeye — Hiodon alosoides. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved on March 26, 2025, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=AFCGA01010

Montana Field Guide

Montana Field Guides

Take us with you!