The Kern River rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss gilberti'') is a localized subspecies of the
rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss''), a variety of fish in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Salmonidae
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...
. It is found in a short section of the main stem of the
Kern River
The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield ...
and several tributaries in the southern
Sierra Nevada in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
The Kern River rainbow trout is a "Species of Special Concern" in the state of California due to habitat loss and hybridization with other native and non-native trout in their range.
The Kern River rainbow trout is one of three subspecies of ''O. mykiss'' that are all endemic to the Kern River basin, sharing the headwaters of the river with the
Little Kern golden trout and
golden trout
The California golden trout (''Oncorhynchus aguabonita or Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita''), is a species of trout native to California. The golden trout is normally found in the Golden Trout Creek (tributary to the Kern River), Volcano Creek (t ...
. Some of the existing range of the Kern River rainbow trout lies within the California
Golden Trout Wilderness
The Golden Trout Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada, in Tulare County and Inyo County, California. It is located east of Porterville within Inyo National Forest and Sequoia National Forest.
It is in siz ...
.
Distribution
Kern river rainbow trout are
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 else ...
to the
Kern River
The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield ...
and tributaries in
Tulare County, California
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lake ...
.
Its current range is drastically reduced from its historic range. Remnant populations live in the Kern river above Durrwood creek, in upper Ninemile, Rattlesnake and Osa creeks, and possibly in upper peppermint Creek. Kern river rainbows have been successfully introduced into the Kaweah-Kern river and Chagoopa creek. Its historic range in the main stem of the Kern River it probably extended downstream below where
Isabella Dam is today and upstream in the South Fork of the Kern River as far as Onyx creek.
The subspecies has been
extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
in the Kern river from the
Johnsondale bridge downstream. The Kern River trout hybridize with nonnative, introduced stocks of rainbow trout, and
Behnke (2002) doubts that pure Kern River rainbow trout still exist in their historic range.
[ Recent genetic analyses however suggest that some un-hybridized populations still exist.]
Notes
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16983894
Oncorhynchus
Trout, Kern River rainbow
Trout, Kern River rainbow
Trout, Kern River rainbow
Trout, Kern River rainbow
Kern River
Natural history of Tulare County, California
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Critically endangered fish
Critically endangered fauna of California