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MINNOW FAMILY <br />CYPRINIDAE <br />This family includes a large and distinctive group <br />of fishes, not all of which are small. In the Monu- <br />ment, for example, are three species which vary from <br />about a foot and a half to more than three feet when <br />fully grown. There are some 2,000 species in this <br />nearly worldwide family, which is restricted to fresh <br />water. Because they are widespread, generally small, <br />and abundant, minnows are important as food fishes <br />for predatory gamefish and many are also valuable <br />as baitfish. <br />CARP, Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus <br />A native of Asia, the carp is the largest introduced <br />minnow in North America where the greatest re- <br />corded weight of an Iowa specimen was nearly 60 <br />pounds; 10- to 20-pound carp are not uncommon in <br />western states. They normally seek quiet water and <br />dark holes, except during spawning, which takes <br />place at a preferred temperature of about 70° F. <br />Carp are generally regarded as a nuisance in the <br />West because they muddy the water by uprooting <br />vegetation and compete with more desirable game <br />EONYTAIL, <br />and food fishes. They are here to stay, however, and <br />their flesh-especially when smoked-is very edible <br />despite the numerous small bones. <br />COLORADO CHUB, Gila robusta Baird and Girard <br />This is one of the commonest and most variable <br />fishes in the Colorado River basin, to which it is <br />restricted. The species reaches a maximum length <br />of about 18 inches, and large adults weigh between <br />1 and 2 pounds, but most individuals are from 8 to <br />13 inches long. Although very bony, the Colorado <br />chub was formerly eaten by the Indians of Dinosaur <br />National Monument and in other parts of its range <br />where neither trout nor whitefish occurred. It pro- <br />vides sport fishing for youngsters because it is read- <br />ily caught on a spinner, doughball, grasshopper, or <br />worm, and puts up a good fight. The young are im- <br />portant as food for other species. It is decreasing in <br />abundance as man continues to modify the waters it <br />inhabits, through dam building, water diversion, and <br />introduction of competing game fishes. <br />HUMP <br />NATURALIST <br />25