Sonora chub facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sonora chub |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Gila
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| Species: |
ditaenia
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The Sonora chub (Gila ditaenia) is a type of fish that lives in rivers and streams. It belongs to the Cyprinidae family, which includes many kinds of minnows and carps. You can find this fish in parts of Mexico and the United States.
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About the Sonora Chub
The Sonora chub is one of seven types of chub fish found in Arizona. It is a smaller kind of chub. Most Sonora chubs are less than 200 millimeters (about 8 inches) long. In the United States, they are usually even smaller, often less than 125 millimeters (about 5 inches).
This fish gets its name "chub" because its body is often quite round and plump. You can spot a Sonora chub by its very small scales. It has between 63 and 75 scales along its side.
Sonora chubs usually have eight rays on their dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins. Sometimes they might have seven or nine rays. Their special throat teeth, called pharyngeal teeth, also help tell them apart from other chubs in Arizona.
Their bodies are usually dark in color. They have two clear black stripes that run along their sides, one above and one below the midline. Their bellies are much lighter, which helps them blend in with the water from below. This is called counter-shading.
During mating season, the males get special colors. Their paired fins and anal fins turn red. They also get orange areas on their bellies. A round spot at the base of their tail also becomes easy to see during this time.
Where Sonora Chubs Live
Sonora chubs have lived in the southwestern United States for a long time. You can mostly find them in the rivers that flow into the Rio de la Concepcion in Sonora, Mexico, and Arizona. They have also been seen in the Rios Altar and Magdalena areas.
Small streams that flow into the Rios Altar are very important for these fish. They use these streams to travel into Sycamore Creek in Beer Canyon, Arizona. From Sycamore Creek, they can move into Santa Cruz County when it's time to lay eggs.
Many records show that Penasco Creek in the Atascosa Mountains is a very popular home for Sonora chubs. They usually live in areas that are between 305 to 1,219 meters (1,000 to 4,000 feet) high.
Sonora Chub Habitat
Sonora chubs like to gather in the deepest and largest pools of water. These pools are usually more stable, which is good for their young fish. They use the sandy bottoms of these big pools to bury their eggs. This helps protect the eggs from other animals that might want to eat them.
These fish eat insects that live in the water and insects that fall into the water. They also eat large floating patches of algae found in the pools. If there is a long period without rain, called a drought, the chubs might be forced to move from the deep streams into shallower pools.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Sonora chubs usually lay their eggs in the early spring months. However, young fish have been found in Sycamore Creek and the Rio Altar in November. This means they might lay eggs at other times of the year too.
Male Sonora chubs show off bright colors during mating season. The males with the brightest red and orange patterns on their fins are often more successful at finding a mate. It is thought that these bright colors appear after the spring and summer rains.
Protecting the Sonora Chub
The Sonora chub was put on the endangered species list in 1988. This means their numbers are very low, and they are at risk of disappearing. Several projects are working to help these fish recover.
Some areas where they live, like Sycamore and Penasco Creek, are now protected. This means fishing and other human activities are strictly limited there. There is also a 12-meter (about 40-foot) protected zone along the banks of these streams. This further limits access to help keep the fish safe.
Sycamore Creek has been changed a lot by human activities. Things like mining, animals grazing, and people using the area for fun have affected the creek. Also, new types of fish that are not native to the area have been introduced. All these things are causing the number of Sonora chubs to go down.
Sycamore Creek is barely suitable for Sonora chubs to live in. If they are forced out of these waters, they might not have anywhere else to go. These human changes, along with less healthy watersheds and more droughts, could cause the species to disappear completely.
Another worry is that non-native green sunfish might eat the Sonora chubs. This is a problem for many Arizona fish that are on the endangered list. To help the Sonora chub fully recover, all these problems need to be fixed. The health of the watersheds also needs to become stable again.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). "Gila ditaenia" in FishBase. April 2012 version.
See also
In Spanish: Carpa sonorense para niños
