''Empetrichthys latos'' is a rare species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing 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. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the family Goodeidae, the splitfins. It is known by the common names Pahrump poolfish and Pahrump killifish, the former being more correct today.USFWS
Withdrawal of proposed rule to reclassify the Pahrump Poolfish (''Empetrichthys latos'') from endangered to threatened status.
(April 2, 2004). ''Federal Register''. Retrieved September 28, 2011. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the United States, where it was limited to the

Pahrump Valley Pahrump Valley is a Mojave Desert valley west of Las Vegas and the Spring Mountains massif in southern Nye County, Nevada, and eastern San Bernardino County, California. Pahrump, Nevada, is in the valley's center and the Tecopa and Chicago Valley ...

near the California border. It nearly became

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

due to habitat destruction and no longer occurs there. It is a federally listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of the United States.USFWS
''Empetrichthys latos'' Recovery Plan.
(March 1980). Retrieved September 28, 2011. The Pahrump Poolfish is long-lived for a small-bodied fish, with ages up to 10 years for females and 7 years for males documented. The Pahrump Poolfish is sexually dimorphic; females being significantly larger. This is an important consideration for management as establishing populations with a balanced sex ratio is likely desired. This fish reaches a maximum length of about . It has its dorsal and anal fins far back on its body and it lacks pelvic fins. The head is depressed in front and the mouth is wide. The jaws are unequal, the lower projecting farther than the upper. The fish is greenish on its back and silvery green on the belly. The male takes on a blue tinge during spawning. It is omnivorous, feeding on varied plant and animal material. Spawning is most common in spring but can occur at any time of the year when conditions are right. Adults are more active at night, but juveniles appear to be more active during the day. The native habitat of the fish was made up of pools and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es. The water at one pool was a constant . This may be the optimal temperature for the species but it can tolerate a relatively wide range of temperatures. It has been noted to survive under a layer of ice during winter. The water is

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

. This species is the only surviving member of genus ''

Empetrichthys ''Empetrichthys'' is a genus of splitfins endemic to the state of Nevada in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in N ...

'', the other, the Ash Meadows killifish (''Empetrichthys merriami''), having become extinct in the 1940s. There were three

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 ''E. latos'', two of which are extinct today. Each occurred in a different

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

in the Pahrump Valley. The Raycraft Ranch springfish (''E. latos concavus'') became extinct when its spring was destroyed in the 1950s. The Pahrump Ranch killifish (''E. latos pahrump'') disappeared when its spring was pumped dry in 1958. The remaining fish is the nominal subspecies ''E. latos latos''. It is known simply as the Pahrump poolfish. In 1975 the Pahrump poolfish was extirpated from its habitat, Manse Spring, when it experienced

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

from the introduced goldfish, some vegetation was removed, and the spring dried up due to

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

pumping nearby. On noting its impending extinction, scientists and officials removed specimens of the fish and transplanted them into three pools in different locations in Nevada. When the official recovery plan for the species was published by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

in 1980, it aimed to manage and protect the three transplanted populations. The fish has not been returned to its native habitat at Manse Spring because the area is under development and the water supply is not reliable. Though the fish reproduced successfully and appeared to thrive in its new pools, it faced a number of challenges there. Flooding destroyed one of the pools,

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

killed specimens at another, and the unauthorized introduction of

mosquitofish The western Mosquitofish (''Gambusia affinis'') is a North American freshwater fish, also known commonly, if ambiguously, as simply Mosquitofish or by its generic name, ''Gambusia'', or by the common name gambezi. Its sister species, the easte ...

and

crawfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

further threatened the fish. Some fish were transplanted into a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

to replace the flooded population, but the USFWS had to intervene when Nevada State Parks officials planned to

dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

the pond. Today the populations remain, but the habitat must be artificially maintained at times. As of 2004 only one population is stable. Threats still exist from groundwater pumping, vandalism, and introduced species. In 2018, the Southern Nevada Water Authority is planning on establishing a refuge population into ponds at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. The USFWS still considers the species to be "in imminent danger of extinction" and is maintaining its endangered status.

References

External links

''Empetrichthys latos''.
The Nature Conservancy. *Sweet, P
Endangered fish swim in water Las Vegas wants.
''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...

'' November 18, 2008. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5298209 latos Natural history of Nevada Fish described in 1948 ESA endangered species