Baja California rainbow trout

Last updated

Baja California rainbow trout
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae
Genus: Oncorhynchus
Species:
Subspecies:
O. m. nelsoni
Trinomial name
Oncorhynchus mykiss nelsoni
Evermann, 1908 [1]

The Baja California rainbow trout or San Pedro Martir trout or Nelson's trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss nelsoni) is a localized subspecies of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), a freshwater fish in the family Salmonidae.

Contents

Baja California rainbow trout is one of many species of Mexican native trout.

Distribution

It is endemic to headwater tributaries of the Rio Santo Domingo in the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, located in Baja California state on the northern Baja California Peninsula. [2] [3]

Taxonomy

19th century

The first records of trout in northwestern Mexico were published by paleontologist E. D. Cope in 1886 where he describes two specimens from Chihuahua as having the appearance of Salmo purpuratus a name sometimes incorrectly used for cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki). [4] In 1898 and 1905, naturalist E. W. Nelson with the U.S. Biological Survey led explorations into the Mexican mainland (1898) and Baja California Peninsula (1905) to document flora and fauna.

20th century

In 1908, preserved specimens of trout that Nelson brought back from the Rio Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo creek) in the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir mountains of Baja California were described by ichthyologist B.W. Evermann as a new species Salmo nelsoni, the Baja rainbow trout. [4]

In 1989, morphological and genetic studies indicated trout of the Pacific basin were genetically closer to Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus species) than to the Salmo s brown trout (S. trutta) or Atlantic salmon (S. salar) of the Atlantic basin. [5] Thus, in 1989, taxonomic authorities moved the rainbow, cutthroat and other Pacific basin trout, including the Mexican native trout into the genus Oncorhynchus. [6] Thus Salmo mykiss nelsoni became O. m. nelsoni.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trout</span> Freshwater fish from subfamily Salmoninae

Trout is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo and Salvelinus, all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the family Salmonidae. The word trout is also used for some similar-shaped but non-salmonid fish, such as the spotted seatrout/speckled trout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra de San Pedro Mártir</span> Mountain range in northwestern Mexico

Sierra de San Pedro Mártir is a mountain range located within southern Ensenada Municipality and southern Baja California state, of northwestern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow trout</span> Fresh-water species of fish

The rainbow trout is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to freshwater to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutthroat trout</span> Species of fish

The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden trout</span> Species of fish

The Californiagolden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita or Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita) is a species of trout native to California. The golden trout is normally found in the Golden Trout Creek, Volcano Creek, and the South Fork Kern River. The Golden trout is the official freshwater state fish of California since 1947.

<i>Oncorhynchus</i> Genus of fishes

Oncorhynchus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae, native to coldwater tributaries of the North Pacific basin. The genus contains twelve extant species, namely six species of Pacific salmon and six species of Pacific trout, all of which are migratory mid-level predatory fish that display natal homing and semelparity.

The Alvord cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii alvordensis, was a subspecies of cutthroat trout. It was known only from Trout Creek in Oregon and Virgin Creek in Nevada, although it may have lived in several of the larger Alvord Basin streams during recent times. It was native to spring-fed creeks that ran down to Alvord Dry Lake in southeast Oregon, which was a large lake during the ice ages and an isolated drainage, part of the Great Basin today. This is one of the two cutthroat trout taxa considered extinct because all known populations are hybridized with rainbow trout which were introduced into streams in the Alvord basin in the 1920s, resulting in cutbows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redband trout</span> Subspecies of fish

Redband trout are a group of three recognized subspecies of rainbow trout. They occur in three distinct regions in Pacific basin tributaries and endorheic basins in the western United States. The three subspecies are the Columbia River redband trout, the McCloud River redband trout and the Great Basin redband trout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westslope cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The westslope cutthroat trout, also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish. This subspecies is a species of concern in its Montana and British Columbia ranges and is considered threatened in its native range in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Leandro Creek</span> River in California, United States

San Leandro Creek is a 21.7-mile-long (34.9 km) year-round natural stream in the hills above Oakland in Alameda County and Contra Costa County of the East Bay in northern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The coastal cutthroat trout, also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroat trout occurs in four distinct forms. A semi-anadromous or sea-run form is the most well known. Freshwater forms occur in both large and small rivers and streams and lake environments. The native range of the coastal cutthroat trout extends south from the southern coastline of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Eel River in Northern California. Coastal cutthroat trout are resident in tributary streams and rivers of the Pacific basin and are rarely found more than 100 miles (160 km) from the ocean.

The Mexican golden trout is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae. The species is endemic to high-elevation headwaters of the Fuerte River, Sinaloa River, and Culiacán River drainages in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico.

The McCloud River redband trout is one of three redband trout subspecies of the rainbow trout in the family Salmonidae. The trout is native in small tributaries of the McCloud River and Pit River which are tributaries of California's Sacramento River. Its historic range has declined significantly since it was first described in 1894. Remaining populations of genetically pure McCloud River redband trout are threatened by predation, habitat loss, competition with introduced trout species and by hybridization with hatchery rainbow trout introduced to support sport fishing.

The Sheepheaven Creek redband trout is a local Californian variety of the rainbow trout, a freshwater fish in the family Salmonidae. It is considered either a distinct western form of the McCloud River redband trout, or a subspecies of its own, which has not been scientifically named and described yet. It is native to Sheepheaven Creek, Siskiyou County, California, United States. It has been transplanted into Swamp Creek in 1972 and 1974 and into Trout Creek in 1977. They can now be found in both locations. Sheepheaven Creek redband are found to be the most distinct anatomically among all other western North American trout groups, and therefore has been suggested to merit recognition as a new subspecies. A key diagnostic character is that they have the fewest gill rakers of any western trout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kern River rainbow trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The Kern River rainbow trout is a localized subspecies of the rainbow trout, a variety of fish in the family Salmonidae. It is found in a short section of the main stem of the Kern River and several tributaries in the southern Sierra Nevada in California. The Kern River rainbow trout is a "Species of Special Concern" in the state of California due to habitat loss and hybridization with other native and non-native trout in their range.

Mexican native troutMexican rainbow trout, sometimes Baja rainbow trout and Mexican golden trout —occur in the Pacific Ocean tributaries of the Baja California peninsula and in the Sierra Madre Occidental of northwestern Mexico as far south as Victoria de Durango in the state of Durango. Many forms of the Mexican rainbow trout, subspecies of the rainbow trout, have been described. The Mexican golden trout is a recognized species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Kern golden trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The Little Kern golden trout is a brightly colored subspecies of rainbow trout native to the main stem and tributaries of the Little Kern River in Tulare County, California. Together with the California golden trout and the Kern River rainbow trout, the Little Kern golden trout forms what is sometimes referred to as the "golden trout complex" of the Kern River basin.

Southern California Coastal–Baja California is a freshwater ecoregion in Western North America. It covers portions of central and southern California and west of the Coast Ranges as well as most of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, extending from the southern end of Monterey Bay to the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.

References

  1. "Oncorhynchus mykiss nelsoni". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  2. Johnson, Rex Jr. (2005). "The Trout of Mexico". The Quiet Mountains-A Ten-year Search for the Last Wild Trout of Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidential. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 9–19. ISBN   0-8263-2273-5.
  3. Robert J. Behnke (1992). American Fisheries Society Monograph. Vol. 6. Bethesda, Maryland, United States: American Fisheries Society. ISBN   0-913235-78-4.
  4. 1 2 Behnke, Robert J.; Williams, Ted (2007). "Mexican Golden Trout". About Trout: The Best of Robert J. Behnke from Trout Magazine. Globe Pequot. pp. 97–102. ISBN   978-1-59921-203-6.
  5. Smith, Gerald R.; Stearley, Ralph F. (1989). "The Classification and Scientific Names of Rainbow and Cutthroat Trouts" (PDF). Fisheries. 14 (1). American Fisheries Society: 4–10. doi:10.1577/1548-8446(1989)014<0004:TCASNO>2.0.CO;2. hdl: 2027.42/140998 .
  6. Behnke, Robert J.; Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator) (2002). "Genus Oncorhynchus". Trout and Salmon of North America. The Free Press. pp. 10–21. ISBN   0-7432-2220-2.