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<br />Poster Abstracts <br /> <br />Native Cypriniform Fish Larvae of the Gila River Basin; Morphological <br />Descriptions, Comparisons, and Computer-interactive Key <br /> <br />Authors: DARREL E. SNYDER, KEVIN BESTGEN and SEAN C. SEAL Larval Fish <br />Laboratory Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado <br /> <br />Abstract: Use of collections of fish larvae and young-of-the-year juveniles to help <br />document spawning sites and seasons or assess larval production, transport, distribution, <br />nursery habitat, survival, and other aspects of early life history requires diagnostic criteria <br />to accurately distinguish target species from morphologically similar taxa. To facilitate <br />identification of the larvae and early juveniles of most native cypriniform fishes in the <br />Gila River Basin, developmental series of reared and collected desert sucker (Catostomus <br />clarkii), Sonora sucker (c. insignis), longfm dace (Agosia chrysogaster), spikedace <br />(Medafugida), and loach minnow (Rhinichthys cobitis) were illustrated and described to <br />detail differences in morphology, meristics, pigmentation, and size relative to <br />developmental state. Comparable illustrations and data were extracted from existing <br />descriptions of flannelmouth sucker (c. latipinnis), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen <br />texanus), bonytail (Gila elegans), roundtail chub (G. robusta), Colorado pikeminnow <br />(Ptychocheilus lucius), speckled dace (R. osculus), and non-native cyprinids common <br />carp (Cyprinus carpio), red shiner (CyprineUa lutrensis), and fathead minnow <br />(Pimephales promelas), mostly from Upper Colorado River Basin guides (Snyder 1981, <br />Muth 1990, and Snyder and Muth 1990 and 2004). For the cyprinids, extracted data were <br />supplemented with original observations and, for roundtail chub and speckled dace, <br />illustrations of proto larvae. The results are documented in detailed descriptive species <br />accounts, comparative summary tables, and computer-interactive keys. A computer- <br />interactive key and a pictorial guide to families of Gila River Basin larvae were also <br />prepared using data from previously published keys and descriptions. <br /> <br />21 <br />