Apache trout

Apache trout ( Oncorhynchus apache )

The Apache trout ( Oncorhynchus apache ) is one among the salmon fish ( Salmonidae) scoring Raubfischart. It is the national fish of the U.S. state of Arizona and is found in the upper Salt River and the Little Colorado River and its tributaries.

Features

Apache trout usually reach a length of 20 to 40, a maximum of about 60 centimeters. The maximum reported weight was 2.36 kg. The animals are yellow to gold color with regularly spaced black spots on head, body and fins and orange to yellow-orange belly. Behind the eyes is a large black spot. The tips of the dorsal fin, the anal fin and the pelvic fins are white. The lateral line organ is fully developed and runs through 112-124 shed.

Way of life

The animals colonize clear mountain rivers, brooks and lakes at altitudes of over 2500 meters mostly. You need still water to spawn, as well as shady riparian vegetation. As prey primarily serve different insects. The spawning season begins on reaching a water temperature of about 8 ° C. The 100 to 4000 eggs are laid in soil pits at the outlet side of natural water basin.

Use and threat

The original common type was previously fished intensively and salted used as winter storage. Overfishing, hybridization with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and competition from introduced trout (Salmo trutta ) and brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) has shrunk to about 5 % of the original extent of the range of the species. The Apache trout is listed in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN as threatened with extinction ( Critically Endangered ).

Swell

• Ken Schultz: Ken Schultz 's field guide to freshwater fish. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY et al 2003, ISBN 0-471-44994-6, p 226
• Apache trout on Fishbase.org (English)

Weblink

• Oncorhynchus apache in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN 2013.1. Posted by: Gimenez Dixon, M., 1996, Accessed on 12 October 2013.

• Salmon fish