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FISHES OF THE SAN LUIS VALLEY <br />LAURENCE 7UCKERMAN <br />and <br />DAVID LANGLOIS <br />ABSTRACT <br />Little is known of the non-harvested fishes of the Rio Grande <br />Drainage and San Luis Closed Basin in Colorado. No one has previously <br />surveyed the Closed Basin for non-harvested fishes and in 1889, <br />Jordan made the only systematic survey of the Rio Grande Drainage <br />in Colorado. Since then, much of the aquatic habitat has been greatly <br />modified and many non-native fishes have been introduced into the <br />waters of the San Luis Valley. It is obvious that the Rio Grande <br />fish community has undergone significant changes since Jordan's sur- <br />vey. Highlights of this preliminary study included: a new species <br />record for Colorado of the bullhead minnow; an elevational record for <br />Cyprinidae and Esocidae in North America at 3468 m; a dramatic decline <br />of Rio Grande endemics and the probable extirpation of two native <br />species; and the occurrence of naturalized and cultured populations <br />of exotic tropical fishes in thermal waters of the San Luis Valley. <br />This project is sponsored by the Nongame Wildlife Program of <br />the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Southwest Regional Office. <br />13 <br />