Subspecific identity of the Amargosa pupfish, Cyprinodon nevadensis, from Crystal Spring, Ash Meadows, Nevada

Authors

Jack E. Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento, California
James E. Deacon, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Abstract

Samples of pupfish from Crystal, Marsh, and Point of Rocks springs, Ash Meadows, Nevada, were examined to determine the subspecific identity of Cyprinodon nevadensis presently inhabiting Crystal Spring. Meristic and morphometric analyses indicate that Crystal Spring is inhabited by C. n. mionectes. The presence of this subspecies is most likely explained by their precarious survival in the spring's outflow after they were eliminated by transplanted largemouth bass in the spring pool, and their subsequent reestablishment throughout the spring system after the extirpation of the bass.

Recommended Citation

Williams, Jack E. and Deacon, James E. (1986) "Subspecific identity of the Amargosa pupfish, Cyprinodon nevadensis, from Crystal Spring, Ash Meadows, Nevada," Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 46: No. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol46/iss2/6