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The Bonneville cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii utah'') is a
The Bonneville cutthroat is like many other subspecies of cutthroat, typified by scattered, pixel-like, black dots over its upper body. Lake and reservoir Bonnevilles will display subdued colors of silver-gray to charcoal, with the upper body having sometimes subtle hues of pink on the sides, blending to deep green along the spine. River Bonnevilles, like river brown trout, often have a much more yellow quality, greatly overtaking both the pinks and greens of the lake variety. These fish, particularly the Bear Lake strain, sometimes lack the bright crimson jaw slash that, at times, may be yellow, pink, or orange.
Cutthroat and
. '' Utah Division of Wildlife Resources'' The dots on the Bonneville are usually larger, as well as sparser, when compared to the rainbow. And the Bonneville has a larger, more distinct jawline.
As one of the features of native trout of the Mountain West, Bonneville cutthroats suffered intense fishing pressure for commerce and sustenance from the 1850s through the 1920s. At one time they were so numerous they were considered a nuisance, but today they are on the Utah Sensitive Species List. Bonneville cutthroats spawn near the mouths of streams, over gravel substrate in the springtime; having an incubation period of 24 to 25 days. Occasionally the Bonneville will interspecies-breed with rainbow trout—since the two species share many of the same waters—producing cutbow hybrids. In order to preserve the pure Bonneville cutthroat, the state of Utah has attempted to keep certain waters Bonneville-specific, such as
The Bonneville cutthroat trout (archived copy)
State of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
* From the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources "Utah fish species".
Wyoming Fish & Game Commission
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific tro ...
native to tributaries of the Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...
and Sevier Lake. Most of the fish's current and historic range is in Utah, but they are also found in Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada. This is one of 14 or so recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States.
In 1997, the Bonneville cutthroat was designated the official state fish
This is a list of official and unofficial U.S. state fishes:
__TOC__
Table
See also
* Lists of U.S. state insignia
* Lists of U.S. state animals
Notes
References
Netstate.com state fish tables
External links
{{state insignia
.State ...
of Utah, replacing the rainbow trout. It was important to the Native Americans and the Mormon pioneers
The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...
as a source of food.
Natural history
Bonneville cutthroats are descended fromCutthroat Trout
The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific tro ...
that once inhabited the Late Pleistocene-aged Lake Bonneville of Utah, eastern Nevada, and southern Idaho. Since the desiccation of Lake Bonneville into the Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...
, which is too salty for any life other than brine shrimp, Bonneville cutthroats have been isolated in smaller populations such as the headwaters of mountain creeks, stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
s, rivers, reservoirs, and lakes of the Bonneville drainage basin. This isolation has resulted in much phenotypic variation among populations.
Bonneville cutthroat trout are mainly piscivorous. Depending on which waters they've been introduced to, or to which they've naturally migrated, Bonneville cutthroats will consume chubs, gizzard shad, whitefish, Utah suckers, or any other small or fledgling fish. Including very small bass, very small walleye, and even other trout—such as the many fingerling rainbow trout which are state-stocked by the millions in Mountain West waters. The Bonneville cutthroat's secondary forage is insects, especially in high mountain lakes or streams where other fish may be scarce. Which makes the Bonneville cutthroat a complimentary catch for dry-fly anglers who are primarily targeting brown trout and brook trout in Utah's streams, creeks, and mountain rivers.
Description
The Bonneville cutthroat is like many other subspecies of cutthroat, typified by scattered, pixel-like, black dots over its upper body. Lake and reservoir Bonnevilles will display subdued colors of silver-gray to charcoal, with the upper body having sometimes subtle hues of pink on the sides, blending to deep green along the spine. River Bonnevilles, like river brown trout, often have a much more yellow quality, greatly overtaking both the pinks and greens of the lake variety. These fish, particularly the Bear Lake strain, sometimes lack the bright crimson jaw slash that, at times, may be yellow, pink, or orange.
Cutthroat and rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
differ in that cutthroats have basibranchial ( hyoid) teeth in their throat between the gill arches and behind the tongue.Project WILD: Going native. '' Utah Division of Wildlife Resources'' The dots on the Bonneville are usually larger, as well as sparser, when compared to the rainbow. And the Bonneville has a larger, more distinct jawline.
Conservation
As one of the features of native trout of the Mountain West, Bonneville cutthroats suffered intense fishing pressure for commerce and sustenance from the 1850s through the 1920s. At one time they were so numerous they were considered a nuisance, but today they are on the Utah Sensitive Species List. Bonneville cutthroats spawn near the mouths of streams, over gravel substrate in the springtime; having an incubation period of 24 to 25 days. Occasionally the Bonneville will interspecies-breed with rainbow trout—since the two species share many of the same waters—producing cutbow hybrids. In order to preserve the pure Bonneville cutthroat, the state of Utah has attempted to keep certain waters Bonneville-specific, such as Little Dell Reservoir
Little Dell Reservoir is a reservoir in eastern Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, about east of Salt Lake City in the western Wasatch Mountains.
Description
Little Dell is located alongside Utah State Route 65, abo ...
, just up-stream from Mountain Dell Reservoir
The Mountain Dell Dam provides a water equalizing and storage reservoir for Salt Lake City, Utah located east of the city in northeastern Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County, near Interstate 80 in Parley's Canyon.
Designed by John S. Eas ...
.
See also
*Fishing in Wyoming
A game fish is any species of fish pursued for sport by recreationalists ( anglers). The capture of game fish is usually tightly regulated. In comparison, nongame fish are all fish not considered game fish. Game fish may be eaten after being caug ...
Notes
References
The Bonneville cutthroat trout (archived copy)
State of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
* From the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources "Utah fish species".
Wyoming Fish & Game Commission
Further reading
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q376143 Bonneville cutthroat trout Cold water fish Freshwater fish of the United States Fish of the Western United States Fauna of the Great Basin Endemic fauna of Utah Bonneville cutthroat trout Bonneville cutthroat trout