Santa Ana speckled dace
| Santa Ana speckled dace | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Leuciscidae |
| Genus: | Rhinichthys |
| Species: | R. gabrielino
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinichthys gabrielino | |
The Santa Ana speckled dace (Rhinichthys gabrielino) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows.[2] This species is found in California.
Taxonomy
[edit]The Santa Ana speckled minnow was first formally described in 2023 by Peter B. Moyle, Nicholas Buckmaster and Yingxin Su with its type locality given as the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, south of Upper Monroe Road, Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County, California at 34°14'15.85"N, 117°49'14.58"W.[2] It was formerly considered to be a population of the speckled dace (R. osculus) but Moyle, Buckmaster and Su found that this taxon had a number of separate evolutionary lineages in California.[3] This species belongs to the subfamily Pogonichthyinae within the family Leuciscidae in the order Cypriniformes.[4]
Etymology
[edit]The Santa Ana speckled minnow belongs to the genus Rhinichthys, a name which combines rhinos, meaning "nose", and ichthys, meaning "fish". This refers to the obvious snout of the type species of the genus, the Eastern blacknose dace (R. atratulus). The specific name honors the indigenous Gabrielino-Tongva people who lived in the area encompassing the range of this species.[citation needed]
Description
[edit]The Santa Ana speckled minnow is a small fish which is typically less than 8 cm (3.1 in), exceptionally they may reach 11 cm (4.3 in). There is a single barbel at the tip of each jaw and a flap of skin which connects the snout to the upper lip. The upper body and flanks are dusky yellow or olive marked with dark speckling and mottling. The bases of the fins are red in both males and females in the spawning seasons, with the males frequently developing a red snout and lips. There are between 6 and 9 rays in the dorsal fin and between 6 and 8 in the anal fin.[5] This species is morphologically practically indistinguishable from the speckled dace.[3]
Distribution
[edit]The Santa Ana speckled dace is endemic to Southern California where it formerly occurred in the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana rivers but it is now restricted to the upper basins of the Santa Ana and San Gabriel rivers, also being found in Big Tujunga Creek, which is part of the Los Angeles River drainage. There have been introductions to the Santa Clara and Cuyama rivers and into River Springs in Mono County.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Rhinichthys gabrielino". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Rhinichthys". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
- ^ a b Peter B. Moyle; Nicholas Buckmaster & Yingxin Su (2023). "Taxonomy of the Speckled Dace Species Complex (Cypriniformes: Leuciscidae, Rhinichthys) in California, USA". Zootaxa. 5249 (5): 501–539. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5249.5.1. PMID 37044748.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Pogonichthyinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
- ^ "Santa Ana Speckled Dace". California Fish Website. Regents of the University of California. Retrieved 19 March 2025.