Lake Crescent cutthroat trout

Last updated

Lake Crescent cutthroat trout
Lake Crescent Cutthroat Trout.jpg
Crescenti Cutthroat trout
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
Subspecies:
O. c. clarkii (but see text)
Form:
Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii f. crescenti
Synonyms

Oncorhynchus clarkii crescenti[ citation needed ]

The Crescenti cutthroat trout or the Lake Crescent cutthroat trout is a North American freshwater fish, a local form (f. loc.) of the coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) isolated in Lake Crescent in Washington. While previously attributed to a distinct subspecies Oncorhynchus clarkii crescenti, it is not currently recognized at the subspecies rank. [1] However the cutthroat trout of Lake Crescent do remain distinct. They have the highest known gill raker and vertebrae counts of any coastal cutthroat population. The cutthroat are believed to have been isolated in Lake Crescent after a landslide blocked the eastern outflow of the lake.

Before the introduction of non-native trout to the lake, these fish co-existed with the lake's population of coastal rainbow trout known as Beardslee trout. The cutthroat mostly used the lake's inlet stream Barnes Creek for spawning, while the rainbow trout used the Lyre River for spawning. However, in the early 1980s a small cutthroat population was found in the Lyre River that spawns further downstream than the native rainbow trout. Today the cutthroat of Barnes Creek have been hybridized with introduced rainbow into cutbows, but Crescenti cutthroat trout persist in the Lyre River as a genetically pure population (Behnke 1992). A Crescenti cutthroat caught in 1961 set the state record for cutthroats at 32 inches (81 cm) and 12 pounds (5.4 kg). [1] [2]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Behnke, Robert J. Native Trout of Western North America, American Fisheries Society; Monograph 6, 1992 p. 65-69.
  2. Trotter, Patrick C. Cutthroat: Native trout of the West, Colorado Associated University Press, 1987, p. 45-47.

Further reading


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">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">Bonneville cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The Bonneville cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native to tributaries of the Great Salt Lake and Sevier Lake. Most of the fish's current and historic range is in Utah, but they are also found in Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada. This is one of 14 or so recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellowfin cutthroat trout</span> Extinct subspecies of fish

The yellowfin cutthroat trout is an extinct subspecies or variety of the cutthroat trout, a North American freshwater fish.

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">Lahontan cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

Lahontan cutthroat trout is the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout, and the state fish of Nevada. It is one of three subspecies of cutthroat trout that are listed as federally threatened.

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

The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout. It is a freshwater fish in the salmon family. Native only to a few U.S. states, their original range was upstream of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River and tributaries in Wyoming, also across the Continental Divide in Yellowstone Lake and in the Yellowstone River as well as its tributaries downstream to the Tongue River in Montana. The species is also found in Idaho, Utah and Nevada.

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

The Colorado River cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native only to the Green and Colorado River basins, which are west of the Continental Divide. Cutthroat trout found in other river basins belong to other subspecies.

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

The greenback cutthroat trout is the easternmost subspecies of cutthroat trout. The greenback cutthroat, once widespread in the Arkansas and South Platte River drainages of Eastern Colorado and Southeast Wyoming, today occupies less than 1% of its historical range. It is currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. It was adopted as the state fish of Colorado on March 15, 1994, replacing the unofficial rainbow trout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout is a form of the cutthroat trout that is considered either as a separate subspecies O. c. behnkei, or as a variety of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. The fish takes its common name from its original habitat, the Snake River of southern Idaho and western Wyoming, and from its unusual pattern of hundreds of small spots that cover most of its body, differing from the larger-spotted Yellowstone cutthroat pattern. Genetically, it cannot be distinguished from the Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and before the construction of dams, no physical barriers were between the ranges of the two subspecies in the Snake River drainage.

<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">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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beardslee trout</span> Freshwater fish

The Beardslee trout, formerly Salmo gairdneri beardsleei) is a local form of rainbow trout endemic to Lake Crescent in Washington. Some sources treat them as a subspecies.

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

Paiute cutthroat trout is one of fourteen subspecies of cutthroat trout. Paiute Cutthroat are native only to Silver King Creek, a headwater tributary of the Carson River in the Sierra Nevada, in California. This subspecies is named after the indigenous Northern Paiute peoples.

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

The Rio Grande cutthroat trout, a member of the family Salmonidae, is found in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in tributaries of the Rio Grande.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutbow</span> A hybrid between a cutthroat trout and rainbow trout

A cutbow is an interspecific fertile hybrid between a rainbow trout and a cutthroat trout. Cutbow hybrids may occur naturally where the native ranges of both species overlap, such as between coastal rainbow trout and coastal cutthroat trout and between Columbia River redband trout and westslope cutthroat trout. While natural separation of spawning habitat limited hybridization in most native populations of rainbows and cutthroats, introduction of non-native hatchery-raised rainbow trout into the native ranges of cutthroat subspecies increased the rate of hybridization. Some native cutthroat populations are, as a result, at risk due to genetic pollution.

The Humboldt cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout, a North American fish in the family Salmonidae. It is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout. It was formally scientifically named in 2008 by Trotter and Behnke, who stated its distribution is in the basins of the upper Humboldt River of northern Nevada, the Upper Quinn River, as well as the Whitehorse (Coyote) basin (Oregon). The Nevada and Oregon Fish and Wildlife authorities still consider these populations belonging to the subspecies O. c. henshawi.

The Whitehorse Basin cutthroat trout refers to a population segment of the cutthroat trout complex from the streams of the Whitehorse Basin, southeastern Oregon. It is alternatively considered as a part of the Lahontan cutthroat trout subspecies, or of the Humboldt cutthroat trout whose main range is in Nevada.