Yaqui chub

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Yaqui chub
Gila purpurea.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Gila
Species:
G. purpurea
Binomial name
Gila purpurea
(Girard, 1856)

The Yaqui chub (Gila purpurea) 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 (of Sonora, Mexico), and G. orcutti (of the Los Angeles Plain in California); and shares several physical characteristics with the G. orcutti (Arroyo chub), but proves different by having a black wedge near the base of the caudal fin.

Contents

Description

The Yaqui chub has a short and rounded snout, which causes the mouth to be small and slightly subterminal. It has large eyes placed on a thick head, placed on a deep body. This is different from the posterior portion of the body, which is much thinner. The Yaqui chub has enlarged scales that are roughly imbricated. Coloration is usually dark overall, but sometimes has a lighter underside. The Yaqui chub's lateral bands are underdeveloped, making them quite difficult to observe. However, a vertically placed, triangle-shaped spot is usually present on the caudal fin. [2]
Very few Yaqui chub can grow to about 17.8 cm (7 in) long, while the average length of this fish is less than 13 cm (5.1 in) long. [3] Juveniles are usually 40–50 mm (1.6–2 in).

Range

Although the current distribution of the Yaqui chub in Mexico is unknown, there are records that show that this species has been introduced and established in Leslie Creek, in the Swisshelm Mountains of Arizona in 1969. [4] This fish can also be found in the San Bernardino (SBNWR) and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges of Cochise County in Arizona. Specifically in the SBNWR, the current distribution of the Yaqui chub ranges from Leslie Creek, to the House, Twin, North, and Mesquite Ponds, and the El Coronado Ranch (Turkey Creek). The Yaqui Chub heavily rely on the artesian wells and springs of the SBNWR.

Habitat

Yaqui chubs prefer living in deep pools of smaller streams with dense vegetation in the water; however, some individuals inhabit cleaner, open areas near the gravel bottoms that are covered with large amounts of algae. Habitat: Deep, vegetated pools of creeks and spring runs.

Diet

When available, Yaqui chub are known to eat aquatic insects and small fish; however, Yaqui chub consume algae, terrestrial insects, and arachnids more often. [5]

Reproduction

Although Yaqui chub breed sporadically in the summer, young usually spawn around March. [6] Fish have a distinct coloration during the breeding season: males turn into a “steely-blue” color, while the females become a drearier, yellowish-brown color.

Conservation

The U.S. population of the Yaqui chub is low, but stable. However, there are still several threats present, including: increased aquifer pumping, reduction of flows in streams, predation of nonnative fishes, overgrazing, and successive erosion. Protection of the San Bernardino aquifers, and observation of nonnative fishes near the chub stream must be taken into account in order for this species to continue to exist.
However, some protective measures have been taken in an attempt for Yaqui chub conservation. In 1980, the Nature Conservancy purchased the San Bernardino Ranch, and eight years later, bought Leslie Canyon, both of which harbor strong Yaqui chub populations. These places bought by the conservancy were then sold to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service, to be established as National Wildlife Refuges. Soon after, a “Recovery Plan for the Endangered and Threatened fishes of the Rio Yaqui” was organized, and is still under review. The plan's main goal was to keep the habitats that the Yaqui Chub are currently occupying stable, which includes the habitats in Mexico and Arizona. [7] The plan also involved conducting extensive research on the biology and habitat requirements for the Yaqui chub.

Related Research Articles

<i>Gila</i> (fish) Genus of fishes

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roundtail chub</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humpback chub</span> Species of fish

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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonytail chub</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaqui sucker</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beautiful shiner</span> Species of fish

The beautiful shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Mexico and Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. It is one of 22 species of Cyprinella found in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonora chub</span> Species of fish

The Sonora chub is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gila chub</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spikedace</span> Species of fish

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.

<i>Ictalurus pricei</i> Species of fish

Ictalurus pricei, the Yaqui catfish, is a species of North American freshwater catfish native to Mexico and Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge</span> Protected area in Arizona, US

Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in Arizona. The 2,770-acre (11.2 km2) refuge was established in 1988 to protect habitat for the endangered Yaqui Chub and Yaqui Topminnow. The refuge also protects a rare velvet ash-cottonwood-black walnut gallery forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge</span> Protected area in Cochise County, ArIzona

The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge is located on the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County, Arizona. Situated at 3,720 to 3,920 feet (1,130–1,190 m) elevation in the bottom of a wide valley, the refuge encompasses a portion of the headwaters of the Yaqui River, which drains primarily western Chihuahua and eastern Sonora, Mexico. The 2,309-acre (9.34 km2) ranch was acquired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1982 to protect the water resources and provide habitat for endangered native fishes.

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 Mexican stoneroller is a species of fish native to Arizona and Texas in the United States and parts of adjacent Mexico. It belongs to the carp family, Cyprinidae. There are three other species in this genus, Campostoma anomalum, Campostoma oligolepis, and Campostoma pauciradii, which are morphologically similar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headwater chub</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonora sucker</span> Species of fish

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoyta pupfish</span> Species of fish

The Sonoyta pupfish or Quitobaquito pupfish is an endangered species of pupfish from Sonora in Mexico and Arizona in the United States.

<i>Poeciliopsis sonoriensis</i> Species of fish

The Yaqui topminnow is a species of fish in the family Poeciliidae. Its scientific name is Poeciliopsis sonoriensis; it is also sometimes considered a subspecies of Poeciliopsis occidentalis as P. o. sonoriensis. This fish is native to Mexico and the United States, with a few native and introduced populations persisting in Arizona in the United States, and a number of populations still extant in northern Sonora, Mexico.

References

  1. NatureServe (2019). "Gila purpurea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T9190A129986857. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T9190A129986857.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. Minckley, W.L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix. pp. 107-108.
  3. Rinne, J.N., and W.L. Minckley. 1991. Native fishes of arid lands: a dwindling resource of the desert southwest. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, General Technical Report RM-206. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colorado.
  4. Minckley, W.L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix. pp. 107-108.
  5. Minckley, W.L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix. pp. 107-108.
  6. Rinne, J.N., and W.L. Minckley. 1991. Native fishes of arid lands: a dwindling resource of the desert southwest. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, General Technical Report RM-206. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colorado.
  7. USDI, Fish and Wildlife Service. 1984. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Rule to Determine the Yaqui Chub to be an Endangered Species with Critical Habitat, and to determine the Beautiful Shiner and the Yaqui Catfish to be Threatened Species with Critical Habitat. Federal Register 49(171):34490-34497.