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INTRODIICTION <br />The razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus (Abbott), is an <br />endemic species of the Colorado River Basin (Miller 1946, 1959). <br />It was once widespread and common in warmwater reaches of many <br />medium and large-sized streams and rivers of the Colorado River <br />Basin from Wyoming south to Mexico. Razorback suckers have been <br />used extensively as food by aboriginal cultures (Ellis 1914, <br />Miller 1955, Moyle 1976); marketable quantities were caught in <br />Arizona as recently as 1949 (Minckley 1973). <br />Current distribution and abundance of the razorback sucker <br />is much reduced. In the Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB), the <br />razorback sucker is common only in Lake Mohave, Arizona and <br />Nevada; these fish probably represent the largest remaining <br />concentration (Minckley 1983, Marsh and Minckley 1989a). Sm le <br />nJ eery of razorback suckers are present in Lake Mead, Senator <br />Wash Reservoir, California, and below Hoover Dam, Arizona and <br />Nevada (Minckley 1983, Ulmer 1987, Mueller 1989, pers. comm., <br />J. Sjoberg, Nevada Department of Wildlife); the species is rare <br />or incidental in other reservoirs and in the mainstream Colorado <br />River and its associated canals (Maddux et al. 1987, Marsh and <br />Minckley 1989b). Razorback suckers in Lake Mohave are presumed <br />very old (McCarthy and Minckley 1987). <br />In the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), razorback suckers <br />are found regularly only in the upper Green River, Utah, and <br />lower Yamga River, Colorado (T~us 1987, Lanigan and Tyus 1989) <br />.~_---_ <br />