Thicktail chub

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Thicktail chub
Thicktail Chub.jpg
Status iucn3.1 EX.svg
Extinct  (1950s)  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Gila
Species:
G. crassicauda
Binomial name
Gila crassicauda
(S. F. Baird & Girard in Girard, 1854)

The thicktail chub (Gila crassicauda) was a type of minnow that inhabited the lowlands and weedy backwaters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers in the Central Valley of California. It was once abundant in lowland lakes, marshes, ponds, slow-moving stretches of river, [2] and, during years of heavy run-off, the surface waters of San Francisco Bay. [2] The thicktail chub was one of the most common fish in California. [2] Within Native American middens it represented 40% of the fish. [3]

The chub was a favored food of the indigenous peoples of Clear Lake and the Central Valley before being heavily exploited by commercial fishermen supplying the San Francisco market. [2] A heavy-bodied fish with a thick tail and a small, cone-shaped head, the backs of the thicktail chub ranged in color from greenish brown to purplish black, while the sides and belly were yellow. It could reach a length of nearly ten inches. Although little is known about its behavior, it was probably carnivorous, feeding on small fish and invertebrates.

The primary cause of the thicktailed chub's extinction was the conversion of much of the Central Valley to agricultural use. Most of its habitat was destroyed by the drainage of sloughs and marshes, dam-building, and water diversion for irrigation. All this resulted in the loss of the sluggish water the species preferred. Competition from exotic species also contributed to its extinction. The last known example was caught on April 16, 1957. [2]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cypriniformes</span> Order of fishes

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.

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

The Sacramento blackfish is a species of freshwater fish in central California. A cyprinid, the blackfish is the sole member of its genus.

<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 caused by diversion or overuse of water resources, particularly in the western United States.

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

The Utah chub is a cyprinid fish native to western North America, where it is abundant in the upper Snake River and throughout the Lake Bonneville basin.

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.

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

The arroyo chub is a species of cyprinid fish found only in the coastal streams of southern California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pajaro River</span> River in California, United States of America

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.

<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 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.

<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.

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.

<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">Yaqui chub</span> Species of fish

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.

<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 (5.9 in) long and reaching lengths of 25 cm (9.8 in). 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 Southern leatherside chub is a ray finned fish in the family Cyprinidae, commonly known as the carp and minnow family. It is endemic to Utah In the United States. Found along the southeastern margins of the Bonneville basin in the American Fork, Provo River, and Spanish Fork drainages of the Utah Lake Basin and the San Pitch River, East Fork Sevier River, Beaver River, and the lower, middle, and upper Sevier River drainages of the Sevier River Basin. They have been extirpated from the Provo River as well as the Beaver River. They are listed as imperiled by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. As with most fishes habitat loss/degradation as well as introduced invasive species.

The Mexican roundtail chub is a cyprinid fish endemic to Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owens tui chub</span> Subspecies of fish

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.

References

  1. NatureServe (2021) [amended version of 2013 assessment]. "Gila crassicauda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T9183A207441342. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T9183A207441342.en . Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, Robert R.; Williams, James D.; Williams, Jack E. (1989). "Extinctions of North American Fishes During the past Century" (PDF). Fisheries. 14 (6): 22–38. doi:10.1577/1548-8446(1989)014<0022:EONAFD>2.0.CO;2. hdl: 2027.42/141989 .
  3. Schulz, P.D. (1979). "Fish remains from a historic central California Indian village". Calif. Fish Game. 65: 273–276.