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<br />account for the inability of C. baileyi from Preston Spring to survive the more poorly <br />oxygenated waters of Mormon Spring by comparing the gill filament number and length <br />in fishes from the two springs. Insignificant differences existed in gill filament number; <br />however, gill filament length varied significantly. Of 10 C. baileyi from Mormon Spring <br />(27.8-37.1 mm), the mean value of longest gill filament was .046 SL (range .040-054). Ten <br />C. baileyi from Preston Big Spring (32.6-40.7 mm) exhibited a mean longest gill filament <br />value of .0362 SL (.034-.042). Variation in gill surface area is apparently attributable to <br />evolution of C. baileyi populations in springs with different dissolved oxygen <br />concentrations. Deacon and Minckley (1974) attributed the survival of C. baileyi in <br />poorly oxygenated water to their proportionately longer gills as compared to other desert <br />fishes. <br />Both geographic isolation and environmental factors are important considerations in <br />designating the five subspecies herein described. Crenichthys b. albivallis occurs in the <br />seven northernmost springs inhabited by the species. These springs are characterized by <br />cool temperatures (near 20oC) and relatively high dissolved oxygen at the spring source <br />(above 3 ppm). Crenichthys b. thermophilus inhabits three springs near a dry tributary <br />of the pluvial White River approximately 20 km southwest of Lund Town Spring. The <br />springs inhabited by C. b. thermophilus are warm (33.3-37.0oC) and have low dissolved <br />oxygen at the spring source (0.7-2.0 ppm). Over 100 km south of these springs are the <br />springs of Pahranagat Valley and the headwaters of the Moapa River. The Ash Spring <br />population has distinct meristic features, and is therefore considered separable from <br />other C. baileyi populations. Other Pahranagat Valley populations, Hiko and Crystal, are <br />considered distinct from Moapa River populations due to geographic isolation and <br />differences in color. <br /> <br />The authors are indebted to the many people who provided assistance throughout the various <br />stages of this study. Particularly, Carl L. Hubbs and Robert R. Miller deserve acknowledgment for <br />the loan of museum specimens, field notes, radiographs, and their extensive knowledge of these <br />fishes. William N. Eschmeyer kindly loaned the remaining type specimens of Crenichthys baileyi. <br />James E. Deacpn provided valuable assistance throughout this work and reviewed the manuscript. <br />Clark Hubbs provided a beneficial review of an earlier draft of this paper. Thorn B. Hardy kindly <br />provided location data and status reports for several populations. Thanks are due Carl E. Bond for <br />allowing one of us aW) to work on something besides Gila. Cynthia D. Williams typed and reviewed <br />drafts of this paper. <br /> <br />LITERATURE CITED <br /> <br />BAILEY, R. M., J. E. FITCH, E. S. HERALD, E. A. LACHNER, C. C. LINDSEY, C. R. ROBINS, <br />and W. B. SCOTI. 1970. A list of common and scientific names offishes from the United States and <br />Canada. 3rd ed. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. 6, 149 pp. <br /> <br />BLACKWELDER, E. 1934. Origin of the Colorado River. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 45:551-556. <br /> <br />CROSS, J. N. 1976. Status of the native fish fauna of the Moapa River (Clark County, Nevada). <br />Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 105:503-508. <br /> <br />DEACON, J. E., and W. G. BRADLEY. 1972. Ecological distribution of the fishes of the Moapa <br />(Muddy) River in Clark County, Nevada. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 101:408-419. <br /> <br />DEACON, J. E., and W. L. MINCKLEY. 1974. Desert fishes. In Desert Biology II (G. W. Brown, <br />Jr., ed.), Academic Press Inc., New York. <br /> <br />DEACON, J. E., and B. L. WILSON. 1967. Daily activity cycles of Crenichthys baileyi, a fish <br />endemic to Nevada. Southwest. Nat. 12:31-44. <br /> <br />DEACON, J. E., C. HUBBS, and B. J. ZAHURANEC. 1964. Some effects of introduced fishes on <br />the native fish fauna of southern Nevada. Copeia 1964:384-388. <br /> <br />GILBERT, C. H. 1893. Report on the fishes of the Death Valley expedition collected in southern <br />California and Nevada in 1891, with descriptions of new species. N. Am. Fauna 7:229-234. <br /> <br />502 <br /> <br />. <br />