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Besides the presence of ~. erythrogaster in Turkey Creek, the species has also been found in two other locations, 1) a spring slough along the Arkansas River in Pueblo and 2) in the Arkansas River proper near Boone, Colorado (one specimen collected by Energy Research and Technology consul- tants of Ft. Collins in 1980). The dace is usually found in small streams where springs maintain permanent flow (Cross 1967). It occurs over soft muck where seepage water emerges from the bases of high stream banks. The spring slough in Pueblo fits this description. The specimen from the Arkansas River is probably a stray. Along large creeks and rivers the dace can occur as strays or as highly localized populations in spring pools away from the main channel (Pflieger 1971). Several fossil studies in the Great Plains bear some consideration for this species and those that follow. Smith (1954; 1958) identified a large fish fauna from Pleistocene deposits (Illinoian time) in the Cimmar- on River drainage of Oklahoma and Kansas. Apparently, the climate of the central High Plains at this time was cool and more moist. Mammalian and molluscan fossil presence and pollen analysis also bear this out (Smith 1958). G. Smith (1963) concluded that southwestern Kansas at this time was similar to present day Wisconsin in climate and that it had more per- manent aquatic habitat than today. With the knowledge that 1) a parallel situation exists in New Mexico, 2) aquatic habitat and climate were more suitable in the past, allowing dispersal and 3) bait-bucket transfer may be disregarded because of the distance involved and because of familiarity with the local situation, the southern redbelly dace should be considered native. I urge recognition of this species as a state protected species. Both the creek chub Semotilus atromaculatus and big-mouthed shiner Notropis dorsalis occur in the Monument Creek system of El Paso County. Both species have been found as strays in Fountain Creek (Monument Creek is a tributary to Fountain Creek) and they probably make it to the Fountain Creek/Arkansas River confluence in Pueblo. However, the reduced habitat heterogeneity and water quality of Fountain Creek probably precludes their establishment in lower Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River. The creek chub is abundant in small headwater creeks where few other fish are present (Pflieger 1971). It occurs widely in the eastern U.S.A. and may have been present preglacially in all the principal stream systems. It prefers coarse gravel for spawning and the scarcity of this bottom type may be the most important factor limiting the distribution of the creek chub. It is found only in a few localities in the lower Arkansas River basin (Lee et al. 1980). Populations of the creek chub also occur as relicts native to the Upper Canadian River system in New Mexico (William Koster, personal communication). This disjunction probably dates from the Pleistocene when climate in the southern plains was more favorable. Also, fossil creek chubs have been found in southwestern Kansas and north- western Oklahoma indicating the presence of gravel-bottomed cool streams in the past (G. Smith 1963). All evidence (Pleistocene fossils from the upper Arkansas River basin, parallel situation in the upper Arkansas River drainage of New Mexico, and more favorable habitat and climate in the past) suggests that the creek chub is native to the Arkansas River drainage of Colorado. Bait-bucket 9