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<br />transfer is a distinct possibility knowing the Monument Creek situation <br />(past private hatcheries and private sporting clubs). However, the fossil <br />evidence proves that the species once was present in the upper Arkansas <br />River system. I therefore consider the creek chub as a Pleistocene relict <br />native to the Arkansas River drainage of Colorado. <br />The contemporary range of N. dorsalis does not include the Arkansas <br />River basin. This species is common in the Platte River drainage of Colo- <br />rado and Nebraska but in Kansas it is found only in the extreme north- <br />eastern part of the state. No parallel situation exists as in the pre- <br />vious species. It is highly unlikely that it entered the Arkansas River <br />in the past and dispersed to Colorado without other populations surviving <br />in other suitable areas in the lower Arkansas River valley. With this sit- <br />uation ruled out one can then look to the distribution of other species. <br />Both the blacknose shiner ~. heterolepis and Topeka shiner ~. topeka show <br />similar overall ranges, but they have localized occurrences in the Arkansas <br />River drainage of Kansas (Lee et al. 1980). These species are suspected <br />of gaining access to the Arkansas River from the north via one of several <br />past connections with the upper Great Plains drainage of the Pleistocene <br />(Metcalf 1966; Pflieger 1971). However, there is a problem in drawing in- <br />ferences from these species to ~. dorsalis. Two subspecies of ~. dorsalis <br />are recognized, one with scales on the nape occurring in the central and <br />eastern parts of the species range and one without scales on the nape from <br />the western part. The specimens of ~. dorsalis from Monument creek are <br />referrable to the subspecies without scales on the nape. This is counter- <br />intuitive, because if N. dorsalis gained access to the Arkansas River via <br />- --.- <br />one of these past connections, it should be the other subspecies. This <br />fact supports a bait-bucket transfer from the range of the western sub- <br />species. If this is true it lessens the interpretation presented for the <br />creek chub. Nevertheless, the other evidence for the creek chub is more <br />compelling than that for the shiner. At present, the presence of ~. <br />dorsalis in the Arkansas River drainage remains problematical until fur- <br />ther evidence, if any, surfaces. <br /> <br />REFERENCES <br /> <br />Beckman, W. C. 1952. Guide to the fishes of Colorado. University of <br />Colorado Museum, Boulder, USA. <br /> <br />Cope, E. D. and H. C. Yarrow. 1875. Report upon collections of fishes <br />made in portions of Nevada, Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico, <br />and Arizona, 1871-1874. United States Geographic~l Surveygs, George <br />M. Wheeler, in charge 5:635-703. <br /> <br />Cross, F. B. 1967. Handbook of fishes of Kansas. Museum of Natural <br />History, University of Kansas, Miscellaneous Publications 45:1-357. <br /> <br />Cross, F. B. and J. T. Collins. <br />Natural History, University <br />3:1-189. <br /> <br />1975. Fishes in Kansas. Museum of <br />of Kansas, Public Education Series Number <br /> <br />10 <br />