Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, which includes many families and genera of cyprinid fish, such as barbs, gobies, loaches, botias, and minnows. Cypriniformes is an “order-within-an-order”, placed under the superorder Ostariophysi—which is also made up of cyprinid, ostariophysin fishes. The order contains 11-12 families, over 400 genera, and more than 4,250 named species; new species are regularly described, and new genera are recognized frequently. Cyprinids are most diverse in South and Southeast Asia, but are entirely absent from Australia and South America. At 112 years old, the longest-lived cypriniform fish documented is the bigmouth buffalo.
The Tecopa pupfish is an extinct subspecies of the Amargosa pupfish. The small, heat-tolerant pupfish was endemic to the outflows of a pair of hot springs in the Mojave Desert of Inyo County, California. Habitat modifications, the introduction of non-native species and hybridization with the related Amargosa River pupfish led to its extinction around 1979.
The Sacramento blackfish is a species of freshwater fish in central California. A cyprinid, the blackfish is the sole member of its genus.
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 Tui chub is a cyprinid fish native to western North America. Widespread in many areas, it is a highly adaptable fish that has historically been a staple food source for native peoples.
The blue chub is a cyprinid fish found in the Klamath River and Lost River drainages of far northern California and southern Oregon.
The arroyo chub is a species of cyprinid fish found only in the coastal streams of southern California, United States.
The tule perch is a surfperch (Embiotocidae) native to the rivers and estuaries of central California. It is the sole member of its genus, and the only freshwater surfperch.
The Pajaro River is a U.S. river in the Central Coast region of California, forming part of the border between San Benito and Santa Clara Counties, the entire border between San Benito and Santa Cruz County, and the entire border between Santa Cruz and Monterey County. Flowing roughly east to west, the river empties into Monterey Bay, west of Watsonville, California.
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 humpback chub is a federally protected fish that lived originally in fast waters of the Colorado River system in the United States. This species takes its name from the prominent hump between the head and dorsal fin, which is thought to direct the flow of water over the body and help maintain body position in the swift currents of the Colorado river. The body is almost entirely scaleless, retaining only about 80 mid-lateral scales along the lateral line. The fish is very streamlined, with a thin caudal peduncle and a deeply forked tail. The back is a light olive gray, the sides silver, and the belly white. The dorsal fin usually has nine rays, and the anal fin 10 or more. Maximum recorded length is 38 cm.
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 Mexican dace, or Mexican chub, is an extinct species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It was found only in Mexico, in the canals and streams of the Valley of Mexico. It is estimated to have become extinct circa 1983. The extinction of this species coincided with the drying of water bodies in the valley. This drying was a result of the increasing demands placed on the water resources of the valley by agriculture, as well as by the growth of Mexico City and its suburbs.
The Gila chub 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. This species is commonly found in association with the Gila topminnow, the desert and Sonora sucker, and the longfin and speckled dace.
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 Rio Grande Chub is a cyprinid fish endemic to the United States. It inhabits the upper Rio Grande and Pecos River systems in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. The Rio Grande Chub is native to most of its current range including all three of the states it can be found in. There are non-native populations that currently inhabit Coyote Creek, the Mora River, the Sapello River and other areas in New Mexico. There are currently no studies showing how the Rio Grande Chub is impacting waterways in its non-native range. It has also been proposed that this fish is native to the Canadian River in New Mexico but this has not been proven. It is possible it was introduced there. Natural hybridization can occur between the Rio Grande Chub and the Longnose dace.
The Owens tui chub was described in 1973 as a subspecies of tui chub endemic to the Owens River Basin in Eastern California, United States. The Owens tui chub is distinguished from its closest relative, the Lahontan tui chub, by scales with a weakly developed or absent basal shield, 13 to 29 lateral and apical radii, also by the structure of its pharyngeal arches, the number of anal fin rays, 10 to 14 gill rakers, and 52 to 58 lateral line scales. Dorsal and lateral coloration varies from bronze to dusky green, grading to silver or white on the belly. It may reach a total length of 30 centimetres (12 in). Owens tui chub are believed to be derived from Lahontan Basin tui chub that entered the Owens Basin from the north during the Pleistocene Epoch.
