Gila (fish)

Gila Temporal range: Middle Miocene to present, 12–0  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Bonytail chub, Gila elegans
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Leuciscidae
Subfamily:	Laviniinae
Genus:	Gila S. F. Baird & Girard, 1853 [1]
Type species
Gila robusta Baird & Girard, 1853 [1]
Species
About 20, see text
Synonyms [1]
Acrocheilus Agassiz, 1855 Siboma Girard, 1856 Tigoma Girard, 1856 Protoporus Cope, 1872 Myloleucus Cope, 1872 Temeculina Cockerell, 1909 Klamathella Miller, 1945 Moapa Hubbs & Miller, 1948

Gila is a genus of fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, native to the United States and Mexico. Species of Gila are collectively referred to as western chubs. The species in the genus Siphateles are close relatives. Several members of the genus are endangered or extinct due to loss of habitat caused by diversion or overuse of water resources, particularly in the western United States.

Species

Gila contains the following valid recent species: ^[2]

• Gila alutacea (Agassiz & Pickering, 1855) (Chiselmouth)
• Gila atraria (Girard, 1856) (Utah chub)
• Gila brevicauda S. M. Norris, J. M. Fischer & W. L. Minckley, 2003 (Shorttail chub)
• Gila coerulea (Girard, 1856) (Blue chub)
• Gila conspersa Garman, 1881 (Nazas chub)
• Gila coriacea (Hubbs & Miller, 1948) (Moapa dace)
• † Gila crassicauda (S. F. Baird & Girard, 1854) (Thicktail chub (extinct: late 1950s))
• Gila cypha Miller, 1946 (Humpback chub)
• Gila ditaenia Miller, 1945 (Sonora chub)
• Gila elegans Baird & Girard, 1853 (Bonytail chub)
• Gila eremica DeMarais, 1991 (Desert chub)
• Gila jordani Tanner, 1950 (Pahranagat roundtail chub)
• Gila minacae Meek, 1902 (Mexican roundtail chub)
• Gila modesta (Garman, 1881) (Salinas chub)
• Gila nigrescens (Girard, 1856) (Chihuahua chub)
• Gila orcuttii (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1890) (Arroyo chub)
• Gila pandora (Cope, 1872) (Rio Grande chub)
• Gila pulchra (Girard, 1856) (Conchos chub)
• Gila purpurea (Girard, 1856) (Yaqui chub)
• Gila robusta Baird & Girard, 1853 (Roundtail chub)
• Gila seminuda Cope & Yarrow, 1875 (Virgin chub)

The following fossil species are known: ^{[3] [4]}

•  ?† Gila cristifera Uyeno & Miller, 1965 - middle Pliocene-aged Bidahochi Formation of Arizona ^[5]
•  ?†Gilaesmeralda (La Rivers, 1966) - middle/late Miocene-aged Esmeralda Formation of Nevada
• † Gila milleri Smith, 1975 - Pliocene-aged Glenns Ferry Formation of Idaho
• † Gila turneri (Lucas, 1900) - middle/late Miocene-aged Esmeralda Formation of Nevada

References

1. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Laviniinae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 15 May 2025.
2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Gila". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 15 May 2025.
3. Schönhuth, Susana; Perdices, Anabel; Lozano-Vilano, Lourdes; García-de-León, Francisco J.; Espinosa, Héctor; Mayden, Richard L. (2014-01-01). "Phylogenetic relationships of North American western chubs of the genus Gila (Cyprinidae, Teleostei), with emphasis on southern species" . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 70: 210–230. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.09.021. ISSN   1055-7903.
4. Kelly, Thomas S. (2010). "A NEW CHUB (ACTINOPTERYGII, CYPRINIFORMES, CYPRINIDAE) FROM THE MIDDLE MIOCENE (EARLY CLARENDONIAN) ALDRICH STATION FORMATION, LYON COUNTY, NEVADA" (PDF). Paludicola. 7 (4): 137–157.
5. Uyeno, Teruya; Miller, Robert Rush (1965). "Middle Pliocene Cyprinid Fishes from the Bidahochi Formation, Arizona" . Copeia. 1965 (1): 28–41. doi:10.2307/1441236. ISSN   0045-8511. JSTOR   1441236.

• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Gila". FishBase . August 2011 version.
• Simons, Andrew M. & Mayden, Richard L. (1997): Phylogenetic Relationships of the Creek Chubs and the Spine-Fins: an Enigmatic Group of North American Cyprinid Fishes (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae). Cladistics13(3): 187–205. doi : 10.1111/j.1096-0031.1997.tb00315.x (HTML abstract)