Mexican golden trout

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Mexican golden trout
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae
Genus: Oncorhynchus
Species:
O. chrysogaster
Binomial name
Oncorhynchus chrysogaster
(Needham & Gard, 1964)
Synonyms [2]
  • Salmo chrysogasterNeedham & Gard, 1964

The Mexican golden trout (Oncorhynchus chrysogaster) 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.

Taxonomy

In 1936, Paul Needham, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries began a series of explorations (1936, 1937 and 1938) into the Rio Santo Domingo drainage in Baja California seeking to bring back live specimens of the Baja rainbow trout as hatchery stock and further study. Although live specimens reached U.S. hatcheries, none ever survived to spawn. In 1952, 1955 and 1956 Needham again explored the Sierra Madre Occidental tributaries of the Gulf of California. Needham's explorations led to the publication of Rainbow Trout of Mexico and California (1959) with coauthor Richard Gard. It contains the first full color drawing of the Mexican golden trout. In 1964, Needham and Gard's proposed binomial name Salmo chrysogaster was accepted as the scientific name for a new species of trout, the Mexican golden trout. The specific name chrysogaster is derived from the Greek for "golden belly". [3] In 1989, morphological and genetic studies indicated trout of the Pacific basin were genetically closer to Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus species) than to the Salmos brown trout (S. trutta) or Atlantic salmon (S. salar)—of the Atlantic basin. [4] Thus, in 1989, taxonomic authorities moved the rainbow, cutthroat and other Pacific basin trout, including the Mexican golden trout, into the genus Oncorhynchus. [5]

Description

The Mexican golden trout is sexually dimorphic; males can easily be identified from females due to their much longer jaws or kype. Mexican golden trout are brightly colored with blue parr marks on both males and females along the side of the body. Purple scaling is visible along the lateral line. Both sexes also have bright golden-yellow belly coloration. The top of the fish and the tailfin are covered in small black spots with much larger spotting on the dorsal fin. The pectoral fins, pelvic fin and anal fin are light orange in color with white tips. Due to their harsh and small stream habitat the Mexican golden trout remains small even when fully grown. Adults rarely reach over a foot long with the maximum size probably being 10 inches (25 cm). Overall body shape and fin placement are nearly identical to those of rainbow trout. Juvenile banding ("parr marks") usually remains distinct throughout the fish's life.

Distribution

Mexican golden trout have an extremely limited range, being found only in the pristine high-elevation headwaters of the Fuerte River, Sinaloa River, and Culiacán River drainages in the Sierra Madre Occidental. This fish is highly restricted, and only known from 15 localities: one in the Sinaloa, four in the Culiacan, and ten in the Fuerte.

Habitat

Mexican golden trout are limited to small streams created by small cienegas (spring-fed marshes) above 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The surrounding landscape is dominated by deep canyons, scrub forest, evergreens and hardwoods.

Status and threats

Due to their small range and highly sensitive, isolated habitat, Mexican golden trout are considered vulnerable. The biggest threats are human development and the possibility of competition/interbreeding with introduced rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). [6] [7] This trout is also an example of the negative effects of habitat abuse and destruction. The primary use for the Mexican golden trout is as food by the local indigenous people. Some of the local people use dynamite to stun the fish and collect them as they float to the top of the water. [7] This is especially harmful to the golden trout populations because of the mass harvest. Sanitation practices in the region where the golden trout is found is minimal, so much of its home water is polluted with residential sewage and trash.[ citation needed ] What is happening now in Mexican golden trout water is similar to what happened to so many other North American trout waters in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as far as decline in populations is concerned.[ citation needed ]

Economic benefits

The scenic area and rugged mountainous landscape have started a budding tourism industry for this area. Being able to conserve and promote the sustainable harvesting of these native trout can help the people of the area as well as the Mexican golden trout. Setting up regulations on the harvesting of the fish and restrictions on polluting the head waters these fish inhabit would greatly improve the region. In Arizona and New Mexico, 512 million dollars was spent on trips and equipment for fishing.[ when? ] This revenue could be a major contributor to helping the area grow and being able to conserve the local environment from destruction.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Salmon is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera Salmo and Oncorhynchus of the family Salmonidae, native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (Salmo) and North Pacific (Oncorhynchus) basins. Other closely related fish in the same family include trout, char, grayling, whitefish, lenok and taimen, all coldwater fish of the subarctic and cooler temperate regions with some sporadic endorheic populations in Central Asia.

<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">Salmonidae</span> Family of ray-finned fishes

Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes, consisting of 11 extant genera and over 200 species collectively known as "salmonids" or "salmonoids". The family includes salmon, trout, char, graylings, freshwater whitefishes, taimens and lenoks, all coldwater mid-level predatory fish that inhabit the subarctic and cool temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The Atlantic salmon, whose Latin name became that of its genus Salmo, is also the eponym of the family and order names.

<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.

<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.

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

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<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.

References

  1. Hendrickson, D.; Tomelleri, J.R. (2019). "Oncorhynchus chrysogaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T142674122A145641611. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T142674122A145641611.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  2. "Oncorhynchus chrysogaster (Needham & Gard, 1964)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  3. Paul R. Needham; Richard Gard (March 26, 1964). "A New Trout from Central Mexico: Salmo chrysogaster, the Mexican golden trout". Copeia. 1964 (1). American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH): 169–173. doi:10.2307/1440847. JSTOR   1440847.
  4. Gerald R. Smith; Ralph F. Stearley (1989). "The Classification and Scientific Names of Rainbow and Cutthroat Trouts". 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 .
  5. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Genus Oncorhynchus". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illust.). The Free Press. pp. 10–21. ISBN   0-7432-2220-2.
  6. Escalante, Marco A.; García-De-León, Francisco J.; Dillman, Casey B.; de los Santos Camarillo, Anabelia; George, Anna; de los A. Barriga-Sosa, Irene; Ruiz-Luna, Arturo; Mayden, Richard L.; Manel, Stéphanie (2014). "Genetic introgression of cultured rainbow trout in the Mexican native trout complex". Conservation Genetics. 15 (5): 1063–1071. doi:10.1007/s10592-014-0599-7. ISSN   1566-0621. S2CID   254411899.
  7. 1 2 Hendrickson, Dean A.; Pérez, Héctor Espinosa; Findley, Lloyd T.; Forbes, William; Tomelleri, Joseph R.; Mayden, Richard L.; Nielsen, Jennifer L.; Jensen, Buddy; Campos, Gorgonio Ruiz; Romero, Alejandro Varela; van der Heiden, Albert; Camarena, Faustino; de León, Francisco J. García (2002). "Mexican native trouts: a review of their history and current systematic and conservation status" (PDF). Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 12 (2): 273–316. doi:10.1023/A:1025062415188. ISSN   1573-5184. S2CID   20102698.