ABOUT THE FISH

HUMPBACK CHUB

General Information

• Scientific name: Gila Cypha
• Appearance
  
• Hump behind head which gibes the humpback chub a striking, unusual appearance
• Has an love-colored back, silver sides, a white belly, small eyes and a long snout that overhangs its jaw
• A member of the minnow family
• Can grow nearly 20 inches and may survive more than 30 years in the wild
• Thought to have evolved 3 - 4 million years ago
• It does not have swimming strength or speed so it uses its large fins to “glide” through slow-moving areas
• Feeds on insects that become trapped in water pockets

History

• Listed as endangered by Endangered Species Act in 1964
• Listed as endangered under Colorado law since 1976

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• Lives primarily in canyons with swift currents and white water
• Historically, it inhabited canyons of the Colorado river
• Now, there are two populations near the Colorado/Utah border
• Though now smaller in numbers than they were historically, the populations seem to be fairly stable in these two areas
• The largest known populations is in the Little Colorado River in the Grand canyon, where there may be up to 10,000 fish

What the Community is Doing

• Recovery strategies
• Boosting and protecting river flows in the spring
• Monitoring fish population numbers
• Managing stocking of non-native fish to avoid conflict with the endangered fish
• Recovery goals
• To get five viable, self-sustaining populations located and restored

RAZORBACK SUCKER

General Information

• Scientific name: Xyrauchen texanus
• Appearance
• Has a brownish-green with a yellow to white-colored belly and has an abrupt, bony hump on it back shaped like an upside-down boat keel
• can grow to up to 13 pounds and lengths exceeding 3 feet
• It can grow to be 13 lbs and 3 feet in length.
• One of the largest suckers in North America.
• They can live to 40 years or more

History

• Listed as endangered under federal law since 1991
• Listed as endangered under CO law since 1979

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• It used to be that they lived throughout most of the Colorado River basin from Wyoming to Mexico. Now it can be found in small populations in various rivers in Colorado and a little bit below the Hoover Dam.
• In The upper CO river basin, Biologists have found that a population of Razorbacks contains 500 adults, most of which are over 25 years old. Very few of the young they produce survive to adulthood.

What the Community is Doing

• Recovery strategies
  • Very few live in the wild. Biologists raise the fish in hatcheries in Utah and Colorado. These Hatcheries are sticking the razorbacks in Colorado, Gunnison, Green, and San Juan rivers.
  • Endangered fish grow much faster in backwaters and wetlands than in river channels. For this, the recovery Program has launched a program to acquire riverside wetlands for recovery of the razorbacks and other endangered species of fish.
  • Better management of non-native fish populations.
• Recovery goals
  • Recover populations in Lake Mohave and in the Green and Yampa rivers
  • Recover two other populations - one in the upper Colorado River basin and one in the lower basin