Utah Lake sculpin

The Utah bullhead ( Cottus echinatus ) is an extinct freshwater fish which was endemic in Utahsee in the U.S. state of Utah.

Description

The Utah bullhead had a long slender body and reached a length of nine to eleven inches. She saw the sculpins of the Bear Lakes ( Cottus extensus ) are very similar, but had a larger head and bristles on the breast and belly. The Utah bullhead was sprinkled on the top of light brown and dark side. You probably fed on invertebrates.

Distribution and habitat

The Utah Bullhead belonged to the benthic fish fauna ( ground dwellers ) and lived in Utahsee, especially in the mouth of the Provo River.

Extinction

The disappearance of the Utah Sculpin is apparently due to the great drought periods during the 1920s and 1930s, which led to a rapid drop in the water table. The shallow water table frozen large parts of the lake in winter. This hiked the fish in the non- frozen parts where there was an over-population and thus to food shortages. Added to this was the deterioration of water quality due to agricultural practices. In 1928, the Utah bullhead was caught for the last time and since the mid-1930s they considered extinct.