Roundtail chub
Encyclopedia
The roundtail chub is a cyprinid
fish
of the Colorado River
drainage, including the Gila River
and the Rio Yaqui in western North America
, part of the “robusta complex”, which includes the Gila robusta robusta, G.r. grahami, and G.r. seminuda.
, and posteriorly it is tapered towards the tail. The forehead area is concave. The mouth is largish, but does not reach as far as the pupil of the eye, and is overhung by the snout. The tail is deeply forked. Color is a grayish brown above, and a lighter shade below. Mature males sometimes acquire red-orange lower cheeks and paired fins during breeding season. Roundtail chub can reach almost to about 49 cm (19 in), but usually only grow to about 25–30 cm (10–12 in). Recently, it has been recorded at up to 43 cm in length.
Roundtail chub are also described to be “trout-like” because they possess a large mouth with the lower lip outlined in black. However, they lack the adipose fins on trout species.
This species is rather variable, and formerly accounted as several species, until intermediate forms were discovered. Recognized subspecies include:
The roundtail chub has been extripated from the Zuni and San Francisco Rivers of New Mexico.
In Arizona, specifically in the Gila, Mohave, and Yavapai counties, the roundtail chub occupies several tributaries: Fossil Creek, Oak Creek, Burro Creek, Francis Creek, Big Sandy River, Santa Maria River, Boulder Creek, Trout Creek, Sycamore Creek, Beaverhead Springs, and throughout the Verde River.
The species is considered a rough fish and undesirable by anglers throughout its range, due to it being of poor quality on the table because of its slimy nature and strong smell. It also does not struggle vigorously when caught.
Cyprinid
The family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek kyprînos , consists of the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives . Commonly called the carp family or the minnow family, its members are also known as cyprinids...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
of the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
drainage, including the Gila River
Gila River
The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...
and the Rio Yaqui in western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, part of the “robusta complex”, which includes the Gila robusta robusta, G.r. grahami, and G.r. seminuda.
Description
The body is significantly larger forward of the dorsal finDorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
, and posteriorly it is tapered towards the tail. The forehead area is concave. The mouth is largish, but does not reach as far as the pupil of the eye, and is overhung by the snout. The tail is deeply forked. Color is a grayish brown above, and a lighter shade below. Mature males sometimes acquire red-orange lower cheeks and paired fins during breeding season. Roundtail chub can reach almost to about 49 cm (19 in), but usually only grow to about 25–30 cm (10–12 in). Recently, it has been recorded at up to 43 cm in length.
Roundtail chub are also described to be “trout-like” because they possess a large mouth with the lower lip outlined in black. However, they lack the adipose fins on trout species.
Range
Its range is in the Colorado River drainage, being found from the headwaters down to the mouth, as well as in some rivers of northwestern Mexico.This species is rather variable, and formerly accounted as several species, until intermediate forms were discovered. Recognized subspecies include:
- Gila robusta grahami
- Gila robusta jordani - small streams along the White River (Nevada)White River (Nevada)The White River is a small and discontinuous river located in southeastern Nevada notable for several endemic species of fish.-Course:The river begins at the Great Basin Divide in the White Pine Range near Ely, where it is fed by snow melt and springs from Currant Mountain...
- Gila robusta robusta - small rivers
- Gila robusta seminuda
The roundtail chub has been extripated from the Zuni and San Francisco Rivers of New Mexico.
In Arizona, specifically in the Gila, Mohave, and Yavapai counties, the roundtail chub occupies several tributaries: Fossil Creek, Oak Creek, Burro Creek, Francis Creek, Big Sandy River, Santa Maria River, Boulder Creek, Trout Creek, Sycamore Creek, Beaverhead Springs, and throughout the Verde River.
Diet
It is a voracious predator and very prolific in nature, consuming large amounts of fish, crayfish, frogs, and insects. Roundtail chub adults primarily consume aquatic and terrestrial insects, other fishes, and sometimes algae; juvenile fish eat smaller insects, crustaceans, and algae.Conservation
The decreasing population of the roundtail chub is primarily due to the result of habitat loss. Although the populations in the Salt and Verde Rivers were stable ten years ago, they have been exponentially decreasing. Recent conservation efforts include more research to determine the mechanisms of the their sudden disappearance, and population surveys conducted by the Arizona Game and Fish and US Forest Service (in progress).The species is considered a rough fish and undesirable by anglers throughout its range, due to it being of poor quality on the table because of its slimy nature and strong smell. It also does not struggle vigorously when caught.