File:Sacramento splittail (5411432331).jpg

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Sacramento_splittail_(5411432331).jpg(762 × 238 pixels, file size: 147 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

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The Sacramento Splittail, (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus), is a cyprinid fish native to the low-elevation waters of the Central Valley in California. It was first described by William O. Ayres in 1854. It is the sole living member of its genus, the Clear Lake splittail (P. ciscoides) having become extinct in the 1970s.

The distinctive feature of the splittail is the larger upper lobe of the tail fin. It also has tiny barbels at the corners of the mouth. The dorsal fin has 9-10 rays, while the pectoral fins have 16-19 rays, the pelvic fin 8-9 rays, and the anal fin 7-9 rays. Color is silver on the sides, with a dusky olive gray on the back; during the breeding season the fins pick up a red-orange tinge, and the males become darker and develop white tubercles on the head and at the bases of the fins.

They feed on bottom-dwelling invertebrates and detritus, generally in areas of low to moderate current. In Suisun Bay, opossum shrimp (mostly Neomysis mercedis), amphipods such as Corophium, and copepods are favorite foods, while in the Sacramento Delta they eat clams, crustaceans, and insect larvae. During periods of high water levels (February/March), splittails will move into flooded areas to look for earthworms. The Sacramento splittail utilizes floodplain habitat for feeding and spawning, and depends upon floodplain habitat for spawning.

Their range is the lower-elevation waters of the Central Valley, extending to San Francisco Bay. Although once found as far north as Redding, they are now only rarely seen in the upper Sacramento River. They were once caught from southern San Francisco Bay and in Coyote Creek (Santa Clara County), but are now restricted to the Sacramento Delta, Suisun Bay, and the lower parts of Sonoma Creek, Petaluma River and Napa River. They are tolerant of moderate levels of salinity and/or alkalinity.

Splittail were reclassified as a species of special concern by the US Fish and Wildlife Service on September 22, 2003 from their prior classification as threatened due to litigation. The Central Valley's system of sloughs and backwaters maintained by annual flooding has greatly changed. The cause of the decline of this species is still being studied.
Date
Source Sacramento splittail
Author Pacific Southwest Region USFWS from Sacramento, US

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This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region at https://flickr.com/photos/54430347@N04/5411432331 (archive). It was reviewed on 11 May 2018 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

11 May 2018

Public domain
This image or recording is the work of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. For more information, see the Fish and Wildlife Service copyright policy.

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United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current06:00, 27 January 2020Thumbnail for version as of 06:00, 27 January 2020762 × 238 (147 KB)Togabi (talk | contribs)Color Adjustment.
05:24, 11 May 2018Thumbnail for version as of 05:24, 11 May 2018762 × 238 (107 KB)OceanAtoll (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons

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