Gila chub | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Genus: | Gila |
Species: | G. intermedia |
Binomial name | |
Gila intermedia (Girard, 1856) | |
The Gila chub (Gila intermedia) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States. The Gila chub is closely related to the roundtail chub. [2] This species is commonly found in association with the Gila topminnow, the desert and Sonora sucker, and the longfin and speckled dace.
The Gila chub has a large, chubby body, with large, thick scales. The body is dark overall, and sometimes is lighter on the belly. In larger females, a soft, fat, and broad hump sometimes develops on the nape of the neck. Mature, breeding males have a red or orange color on the lower cheek, back parts of the lips, and on parts of the fin. This coloration can also be found on the male's caudal peduncle (tail side). [3] Males usually grow to be only about 15 cm (5.9 in), while females can reach to 25 cm (9.8 in)—a significant difference. [4]
The Gila chub has been found in streams of the Gila River drainage in Arizona, and in the Santa Cruz River system in Sonora, Mexico; however, recently, the Gila chub species has not been documented in the San Pedro drainage in Sonora, Mexico.
The Gila chub has also been recently discovered in these specific drainages in Arizona: Santa Cruz River, Middle Gila River, San Pedro River, Agua Fria River, and the Verde River. These fish have also been extirpated from the Monkey Spring of the Santa Cruz River, and Fish and Cave Creeks of the Salt River.
Gila chub of the Gila River basin usually occupies the smaller headwater streams, springs or marshes. Their choice of diverse habitats varies, depending on the season or age of the fish. Juveniles are found in riffles (a patch of waves), pools, and banks. However, in larger streams, these fish are found in parts of heavy vegetation, for cover and foraging. Gila chubs are also considered to be highly “secretive” when it comes to habitats; since fish of this species are constantly looking for deeper waters near cover and shade.
Gila chubs are omnivores, and their diet mainly includes aquatic (and terrestrial) insects. These fish are also known to consume other fish at large sizes, which include eating speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus) and other small cyprinid fish. Juveniles feed throughout the day while the adults are out during the early morning and late night; juveniles usually consume insects and algae.
Gila chub have a unique breeding season, which occurs from late spring to summer (some populations can go as far as late winter if the water temperature stays constant). The breeding period is long because Gila chub mature in their second or third year, and are more active at this age. Reproduction occurs in heavily vegetated areas. [3] Actively breeding fish have distinct intense coloration—parts of the body become fire-red (ventro-lateral surfaces) and the eyes transform to a yellow-orange. [3]
Little is known about the population of Gila chub in Mexico, but the populations that reside in Arizona are expected to decrease because of these ongoing threats: aquifer pumping, stream diversion, habitat alterations by non-native crayfishes, and mainly, predation/competition with nonnative fishes. Currently, the Gila chub are sharing the waters with green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) in many areas; however, introducing any other kind of exotic fish to the Gila chub must be managed and observed (it is crucial to their survival). In fact, the Gila chub has been extirpated on many occasions because of exotic fish such as the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).
According to the Arizona Fish and Game Department, the Bureau of Land Management Phoenix District is proposing translocations of the Gila chub from Silver Creek to an adjacent stream in the Agua Fria headwaters. Here, the Arizona Game and Fish Department can complete their status review of warranting the Gila chub under the Endangered Species Act.
The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about 162 miles (261 km) long. It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the centennial celebration of Zion National Park.
The loach minnow is a species of freshwater fish. It is a member of the carp family of order Cypriniformes. It occurs in streams and small rivers throughout the Gila River and San Pedro River systems in Arizona, New Mexico, and Sonora; it is now considered extinct in Mexico.
The Gila trout is a species of salmonid, related to the rainbow trout, native to the Southwest United States. Prior to 2006 the Gila trout was federally listed as endangered. In July 2006, after much work by the Game and Fish departments in New Mexico and Arizona, the US Forest Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Gila trout was down-listed to threatened, with a special provision called a "4d rule" that will allow limited sport fishing – for the first time in nearly half a century. By the time the Gila trout was closed to fishing in the 1950s, its numbers and range were so depleted and so reduced this copper-colored trout simply wasn't very accessible to anglers. As of 2011 there is fishing in both states for this fish.
Gila is a genus of fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, native to the United States and Mexico. Species of Gila are collectively referred to as western chubs. The chiselmouth is a close relative, as are members of the genus Siphateles. Several members of the genus are endangered or extinct due to loss of habitat causing by diversion or overuse of water resources, particularly in the western United States.
The roundtail chub is a cyprinid fish in the genus Gila, of southwestern North America. It is native to the Colorado River drainage basin, including the Gila River and other tributaries, and in several other rivers. It is part of the “robusta complex”, which includes the Gila robusta robusta, G.r. grahami, and G.r. seminuda.
The Virgin spinedace is a cyprinid fish of the Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado River in the United States.
The bonytail chub or bonytail is a cyprinid freshwater fish native to the Colorado River basin of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the southwestern United States; it has been extirpated from the part of the basin in Mexico. It was once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers and range have declined to the point where it has been listed as endangered since 1980 (ESA) and 1986 (IUCN), a fate shared by the other large Colorado basin endemic fish species like the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. It is now the rarest of the endemic big-river fishes of the Colorado River. There are 20 species in the genus Gila, seven of which are found in Arizona.
The Yaqui sucker is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. It is found the Aridoamerica region of northern Mexico and south-western United States. Catostomus bernardini or Yaqui sucker belongs to the family Catostomidae. The Yaqui sucker is related to the Sonora sucker and could possibly be a subspecies of the Gila sucker.
The Sonora chub is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States.
The Yaqui chub is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in northern Mexico and the United States. The Yaqui chub is a medium-sized minnow fish that historically occurred in streams of Rios Matape, Sonora, and the Yaqui systems of Sonora, Mexico. It is one of the five species of the genus Gila in Arizona. The Yaqui chub is closely related to G. ditaenia, and G. orcutti ; and shares several physical characteristics with the G. orcutti, but proves different by having a black wedge near the base of the caudal fin.
The spikedace is an endangered species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. It lives in fast-moving streams.
The Tennessee dace is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found only in the United States; particularly in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, and parts of extreme northwest Georgia. Until recently, they were considered a subspecies of mountain redbelly dace. They are commonly found in East Tennessee in spring fed first-order streams, often in silt and fine gravel pools, or undercut banks. These streams usually do not exceed two meters in width.
Ictalurus pricei, the Yaqui catfish, is a species of North American freshwater catfish native to Mexico and Arizona.
The desert pupfish is a rare species of bony fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is a small fish, typically less than 7.62 cm (3 in) in length. Males are generally larger than females, and have bright-blue coloration, while females and juveniles are silvery or tan. A notable attribute of the desert pupfish is their ability to survive in environments of extreme salinity, pH, and temperature, and low oxygen content. The desert pupfish mates in a characteristic fashion, wherein compatible males and females will come in contact and collectively jerk in an s-shape. Each jerk typically produces a single egg that is fertilized by the male and deposited in his territory. Breeding behavior includes aggressive arena-breeding and more docile consort-pair breeding.
The Gila longfin dace is a subspecies of the longfin dace found in Arizona. It is considered the nominate subspecies of the longfin dace.
The Yaqui longfin dace is a small fish of the American Southwest and northern Mexico, and considered a form of the longfin dace. It is often referred to as Agosia chrysogaster sp 1.
The headwater chub is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Arizona and New Mexico.
The Virgin chub or the Virgin River chub is a medium-sized, silvery minnow, generally less than 15 cm long and reaching lengths of 25 cm. The back, breast, and part of the belly are embedded with small scales, naked in some individuals. The length of the head divided by the depth of the caudal peduncle typically results in a ratio of 4.0 to 5.0. The scales are typically lacking basal radii or are with extremely faint lines.
The Sonora Sucker, Catostomus insignis, is a medium-sized catostomid fish with 16 other species in the genus scattered throughout North America. This species is remarkably similar in appearance to the Yaqui Sucker.
The Sonoyta pupfish or Quitobaquito pupfish is an endangered species of pupfish from Sonora in Mexico and Arizona in the United States.