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<br />2 <br /> <br />Identification <br /> <br />In view of Holden and Stalnaker's (1970, Table 2 and <br />Figure 4) remarks with regards to extensive 'intergrada- <br />tion' (their usage) in the Powell Reservoir area, we <br />postponed our identification of the young and juveniles <br />until we had sufficient materials for plotting scatter- <br />grams of various measurements. Authors in various <br />papers (Miller, 1946; Gaufin, Smith and Dotson, 1960; <br />Miller and Lowe, 1964; Holden and Stalnaker, 1970; and <br />Minckley, 1973) have mentioned or emphasized the <br />nuchal hump as a distinguishing feature of the hump- <br />back chub. We now view the nuchal hump as a highly <br />variable character. The small eye, the inferior, nearly <br />horizontal mouth and the combination of several other <br />characters in addition to the hump has enabled us to <br />identify the juvenile and adult specimens from the <br />Grand Canyon area as Gila cYPha. <br />Smith (in: Gaufin, Smith and Dotson, 1960) in the <br />annotated list of fishes of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir <br />Basin in reference to Gila cypha stated that, "Young <br />specimens are difficult to identify because of the lack of <br />development of the characteristic shapes of the nuchal <br />area and caudal peduncle and the overlap in fin ray <br />counts for the three types". Holden and Stalnaker (1970) <br />said that, "Since general body morphology is very differ- <br />ent between mature and immature fish, a minimum size <br />of 210 mm standard length was enforced for most fish <br />studied". <br />Confronted with these various stated difficulties, we <br />proceeded cautiously in our determinations. We decided <br />that the logical way to determine the identity of the <br />young and juveniles was to obtain a graded size series. <br />During the early part of our study we considered the <br />slim-bodied specimens to be elegans or hybrids, but as <br />we accumulated more material and became familiar with <br />the variability, we became more and more convinced <br />that we had a single, highly variable form. Our belief <br />was substantiated by our collection of juvenile Gila <br />elegans form, Gila CYPha, and Gila robusta from the <br />Green River in Utah (Figure 9). During the last few <br />collecting trips in the Grand Canyon we were selective <br />in our collections attempting to obtain the different <br />body types as well as to fill the gaps in the graded size <br />series. Our specimens range in standard length from 24.6 <br />mm to 320 mm. The largest specimen is one of the sal- <br />vaged specimens from Powell Reservoir. We have suffi- <br />cient specimens ranging in size from 26.4 to 110 mm in <br />standard length (Figures 1 to 8) but none between 110 <br />and 164 mm in standard length. All of these up to 1I0 <br />mm and the 164 mm specimen were obtained with a <br />ten-foot seine. Another gap exists in our data between <br />the 164 mm specimen and the 204 mm. A series of photo- <br />graphs (Figures 10 to 17) illustrate the differences in <br />body shape of the various size fish. <br />Altho~gh we are primarily concerned with an analysis <br />of Gila cypha from the Grand Canyon area, we present <br />an illustration (Figure 9) of juvenile specimens of the <br />elegans form (upper), cypha (middle) and robusta <br /> <br />TULANE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY <br /> <br />(lower). These three specimens are almost the same <br />length (77.5, 71.2, and 70.3 mmin standard length, re- <br />spectively) and thus are suitable for comparison. !he <br />three specimens were collected from the Green RIver. <br />The elegans and cYPha were taken from near the town <br />of Green River, Utah, and the robusta specimen was <br />taken from near the town of Jensen, Utah. Note the <br />relatively small eye of elegans and cypha versus the large <br />eye of robusta. The caudal peduncle is most slender in <br />elegans and deepest in robusta. The caudal fin lobes are <br />longest and most pointed in elegans and shortest and <br />rounded in robusta. The mouth is essentially terminal <br />in elegans and robusta and subterminal or inferior in <br />cypha. This brief comparison is presented as background <br />information for the review of the series of illustrated <br />growth stages (Figures 10 to 17) of Gila cypha from the <br />Grand Canyon area. These illustrations are arranged <br />starting with smallest (upper illustration in Figure 10) <br />and proceeding to the largest. <br />Figure 10 illustrates three small specimens of approxi- <br />mately 2.5 centimeters (upper) to three centimeters in <br />standard length. The subterminal mouth is apparent <br />even at this small size. Also the slight concave dip is <br />apparent in the profile of the head. These t~ree. speci- <br />mens exhibit relatively long pectoral and pelVIC fms. <br /> <br />Figure II illustrates a transition from a nearly scale- <br />less condition (upper) to visible lateral scales (middle <br />and lower). The upper specimen has relatively short <br />pectoral and pelvic fins. The middle and lower illustra- <br />tions show two different snout shapes. The former has <br />a rather blunt snout and a slightly curved outline from <br />end of snout to nape whereas the latter has a rather <br />hooked and pointed snout and the dorsal outline shows <br />a cephalic dip. Perhaps this latter form represents the <br />juvenile stage of the adult which has the extreme hooked <br />snout and prominently developed hump. <br /> <br />Figure 12 illustrates three different combinations of <br />morphological features. The upper specimen has a blunt <br />snout, long pectoral fins, and moderately deep body. The <br />middle specimen has a moderately sharp snout with a <br />cephalic dip, short pectoral fins and a rather slim body. <br />The lower specimen illustrates a moderately sharp- <br />snouted individual but lacks a marked cephalic dip. It <br />has a moderately deep body and moderate-length pec- <br />toral fins. <br />Figure 13 also illustrates three combinations of mor- <br />phological features. The upper specimen has a blunt <br />snout, very little cephalic dip, short pectoral fins and a <br />moderately deep body. The middle specimen illustrates <br />a slightly sharper snout than the upper specimen but has <br />about the same degree of cephalic depression. The pec- <br />toral fins are long and obviously extend beyond the in- <br />sertion of the pelvic fins. The body is less deep than the <br />upper specimen but is not considered as a slender form. <br />The lower fish has a sharper snout than either of the <br />above and shows more of a cephalic dip. The body is <br />moderately deep, and the pectoral fins are moderately <br />long. <br />