Sport Fish Species Apache Trout Cutthroat Trout Smallmouth Bass Arctic Grayling Striped Bass Yellow Bass Bigmouth Buffalo Flathead Catfish Tilapia Black Bullhead Green Sunfish Walleye Black Crappie Largemouth Bass White Bass Bluegill Northern Pike White Crappie Brook Trout Rainbow Trout Desert Sucker Brown Trout Redear Sunfish Yellow Bullhead Channel Catfish Roundtail Chub Yellow Perch
Apache Trout: (Oncorhynchus gilae apache) Description: Native to Arizona. Body color is yellowishgold; tip of the head and back dark olive. Dorsal, anal and pelvic fins are white tipped. Orange to red cutthroat mark usually present under lower jaw. Dark, bold spots on dorsal and tail fin. Body spotting is sparse and may extend below lateral line. Two small black spots on either side of pupil, give appearance of black stripe through eye. Length: 6 to 24 inches. Weight: 6 ounces to almost 6 pounds. Location and Habitat: Found only in White Mountain lakes and streams and are one of two trout native to Arizona. The Department is increasing their efforts in stocking Apache trout in Arizona. Food:They feed on aquatic and terrestrial insects.
Roundtail Chub : (Gila robusta) Description Native to Arizona. Body is thick and streamlined, dark olivegray above with silver sides. Mouth extends to front of eye. Dorsal fin and anal fin usually have 8 to10 rays. Large forked tail fin. Breeding males develop red or orange coloration on lower half of cheek and bases of paired fins. Length: 8 to 18 inches. Weight: 4 ounces to over 3 pounds. Location and Habitat: Found in moderatesized, perennial rivers throughout the state. Fish occupy pools and eddies, often concentrating in swift swirling water below rapids. Food: They feed on algae, aquatic and terrestrial insects, and fish. Angling: Roundtail chubs readily take artificial lures and bait and put up a strong fight.
Desert Sucker: (Catostomus [Pantosteus] clarki) Description: Native to Arizona. Body sharply bicolored, olivebrown above and deepyellow below. Scales on upper half of body have dark spots forming faint dashed lines. Lower lip is about 3 times as thick as upper lip. Dorsal fin has 10 to 11 rays. Length: 8 to 31 inches. Weight: 4 ounces to over 4 pounds. Location and Habitat: Abundant in the Bill William's, Gila, Salt and Verde River systems. Prefer rivers or streams that have deep and quiet, rocky or gravely pools. Intolerant of lake conditions created by dams. Spawning is from February to early July; Eggs are deposited and fertilized in gravely areas. Food: Desert suckers feed mostly on aquatic insect larvae and algae.
Tilapia: (Tilapia Nilotica) Description: Exotic from Africa. Introduced in 1960's. At least four distinct species of tilapia have been introduced into Arizona. Extensive hybridization often makes identification difficult. Similar in body shape to bluegill. Length: 4 to 18 inches. Weight: 6 ounces to over 5 pounds. Location and Habitat: Found in the Salt and Gila rivers and in the network of canals and ditches in farming areas between Phoenix and Yuma. Often stocked in canals and artificial lakes for algae and vegetation control. Mortality results from exposure to temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit Food: Primarily vegetation and algae eaters. Angling:Fish during warmer months, with small worms, crickets and dough bal on small hooks (size 12). In addition to angling, tilapia may also be taken by bow and arrow, crossbow, snare, gig, spear and speargun.
Angling: Live sunfish or carp, fished close to the bottom of deep pools or in swift water below a dam is effective. Flathead Catfish : (Pylodictis olivaris) Description: Nonnative. Introduced in 1940's. Back and sides mottled, darkbrown to yellowbrown; belly is yellowishwhite. Head is broad and flat with small eyes. 12 to 52 inches. Weight: 1 to 65 pounds. Location and Habitat: Found in the lower Colorado River near Yuma, Gila River, Salt River, Verde River systems and reservoirs. Found near cover, in deeper, slower moving pools of rivers. Food: Young flatheads (up to ten inches) eat insects and crayfish, switching to a fish diet as they grow older.
Largemouth Bass : (Micropterus salmoides) Description: Nonnative. Introduced in 1897. Very large mouth with upper jaw of adults extending beyond rear margin of eye. Length: 10 to 28 inches. Weight: 8 ounces to over 15 pounds. Location and Habitat: Found in the Colorado, Gila, lower Salt and lower Verde Rivers and their associated reservoirs. A warm water fish that prefers clear water with structure and cover. Food: Bass are carnivorous, eating anything that moves.
Northern Pike : (Esox lucius) Description: Nonnative. Introduced in 1965. Length: 12 to 47 inches. Weight: 8 ounces to 24 pounds. Location and Habitat: Found in Lake Mary, Mormon Lake, Stoneman Lake, and Long Lake, south of Flagstaff. Food: Fish make up the bulk of their diet but they will also take frogs, crayfish, waterdogs, ducks, birds, and mice.
DESERT FISHES Desert Pupfish:Cyprinodon macularius Deserts with aquatic habitats and fish? In isolated springs, streams, or marshes, fish have managed to persist. The unique quality of desert fishes stems from their isolated evolution in a harsh desert environment.
TAXONOMY COLORADO RIVER FISHES Lower Basin Scientific name Family Elopidae Elops affinis (m) Common name Machete Family Cyprinidae Agosia chrysogaster Longfin dace Gila cypha (E) Humpback chub G. elegans (E) Bonytail chub G. intermedia (SC) Gila chub G. robusta robusta (SC) Roundtail chub G. seminuda (E) Virgin chub Lepidomeda mollispinis mollispinis (T) Virgin spinedace L.m. pratensis (E) Big Spring spinedace L. vittata (T) Little Colorado spinedace
TAXONOMY COLORADO RIVER FISHES Lower Basin Scientific name Family Cyprinidae Meda fulgida (T) Common name Spikedace Plagopterus argentissimus (E) Ptychocheilus lucius (E) Rhinichthys cobitis (T) Woundfin Colorado squawfish Loach minnow R. deaconi (X) Las Vegas dace R. osculus osculus Speckled dace
TAXONOMY COLORADO RIVER FISHES Lower Basin Scientific name Family Catostomidae Catostomus clarki clarki Common name Desert sucker C.c. intermedius (E) White River sucker C. insignis Sonora sucker C. latipinnis (SC) Flannelmouth sucker C. platyrhynchus Mountain sucker C. sp.(sc) "Little Colorado sucker" Xyrauchen texanus (E) Razorback sucker
TAXONOMY COLORADO RIVER FISHES Lower Basin Scientific name Common name Family Salmonidae Oncorhynchus apache (T) Apache trout O. gilae (T) Gila trout Family Cyprinodontidae Cyprinodon macularius macularius (E) Desert pupfish C. sp. (X) "Monkey Springs pupfish" Family Poeciliidae Poeciliopsis occidentalis (SC) Family Mugilidae Mugil cephalus (m) Gila topminnow Striped mullet
Desert Pupfish (Cyprinodonspp) DESCRIPTION: L=3" (76mm) in males and about 2" (50mm) in females. Females, young, and nonbreeding males are tan with vertical dark bars; breeding males become irridescent blue. Rounded fins. NATURAL HISTORY: Omnivorous. Occurs in springs, lakes, marshes, and stream pools. Breeding males aggressively defend their territory during the spring/summer breeding period. Desert pupfish are welladapted to the rapid water temperature changes and high salinity. Endangered due to introduced species and habitat destruction/fragmentation.
Gila Topminnow (Poeciliopsisoccidentalis) QuickTime and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture. DESCRIPTION: L=2.25" (57mm) in females and males are smaller. Males are recognized by very long gonopodium which is a modified anal fin used as a sexual organ for internal fertilization. Breeding males are also black and thin versus the silverytan color of the More robust females. Both sexes have upturned mouths. NATURAL HISTORY: Omnivorous. Occurs in warm, shallow, slowflowing creeks and Small to medium sized rivers. This is the only fish species in Arizona to give birth to live young (versus eggs). The females give birth to 115 young per brood, but the females often have a second brood already developing while the first brood is being born. Endangered mostly due to predation and competition from the introduced Mosquitofish.
Fish Species Aravaipa Creek Native species Agosia chrysogaster (Girard) longfin dace P Gila robusta Baird & Girard roundtail chub P Meda fulgida Girard spikedace P Rhinichthys osculus (Girard) speckled dace P Tiaroga cobitis (Girard) loach minnow P Catostomus insignis Baird & Girard Sonora sucker P Pantosteus clarkii Baird & Girard desert sucker P Extant established introduced species Cyprinella lutrensis (Baird & Girard) red shiner P Pimephales promelas Rafinesque fathead minnow P Ameiurus natalis (Lesueur) yellow bullhead P Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard) central mosquitofish P Lepomis cyanellus Rafinesque green sunfish P
Rhinichthys chrysogaster longfin dace / charalito aleta larga CYPRINIDAE Minnows and Carps
Gila robusta robusta roundtail chub / charalito aleta redonda CYPRINIDAE Minnows and Carps
Rhinichthys cobitis loach minnow / charalito locha CYPRINIDAE Minnows and Carps
Catostomus insignis Sonora sucker / matalote Sonorense CATOSTOMIDAE Suckers
DESERT FISHES RESEARCHARAVAIPA CREEK QuickTime and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture. http://www.unmack.net/fishes/az/aravaipa/
Major river drainages in the Southwest
Big River Fishes http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu/biota/fishes.htm http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/noframe/e063.htm Fishes that inhabit and evolved in large rivers in the Colorado River basin are members of the chub complex (roundtail chub, humpback chub, and bonytail), Colorado and the razorback sucker. Colorado Pike Minnow or Squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius)
Bonytail chub (Gila elegans). Historically, the bonytail was probably one of the most abundant fishes in the Colorado River basin but has now been called functionally extinct.
Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) A principal commerical fish in the early 1900s, this species has had no significant reproduction in recent years.
Causes of Imperilment Little debate occurs among fisheries professionals about the causes of imperilment and extinctions of southwestern fishes. Most frequently mentioned causes are construction of dams, loss of physical habitat, habitat degradation, chemical pollution, overexploitation, and introduction of nonindigenous species. Dam construction and regulation probably had the greatest adverse effect on native fishes of southwestern rivers, while the effects of excessive groundwater pumping have imperiled many spring systems and their associated fauna. The number of nonindigenous fish species in the Southwest is considerable: Arizona has 71 species; New Mexico, 75 species; Utah, 55 species; and Texas, 96 species (Boydstun et al. 1995).
Desert Fishes Council http://www.desertfishes.org/ Links:http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/tnhc/fish/index.html http://www.peter.unmack.net/gis/fish/colorado/ The Native Fish Conservancy http://www.nativefish.org/articles/desert.php