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and beetles were less abundant. Fishes collected in 1971 and 1972, in <br />decreasing order of numerical abundance, were speckled dace, mottled sculpin, <br />redside shiner, mountain whitefish, bluehead sucker, white sucker, flannel- <br />mouth sucker, rainbow trout and roundtail chub. <br />Seethaler, McAda and 6Jydoski (1976), in a report on endangered and <br />threatened fishes of the Yampa and Green Rivers in Dinosaur National f~onu- <br />ment from 1974 to 1976, compared their collections to Holden's from the lower <br />Yampa River. Their observations were similar to Holden's, but they did not <br />collect bonytail chub, largemouth bass, bluegill, green sunfish, or walleye. <br />Species in their collections from the lower Yampa which were not collected <br />there by Holden were Fundulus kansae (plains killifish), Gila atraria (Utah <br />chub), and Notropis stramineus (sand shiner). Colorado squawfish were said <br />to ascend the Yampa River when water levels were high and additional food <br />and habitat were available. squawfish reproduction was said to have de- <br />clined since the 1960's. Ripe humpback suckers (X rauchen texanus), also <br />known as razorback suckers, of both sexes were reported on two spawning bars <br />in the Yampa River. Evidence of increased hybridization between flannel- <br />mouth and humpback suckers was also reported. Six humpback chubs were <br />collected from the lower Yampa River in 1975 and 1976. The Yampa River <br />was mentioned as a possible refuge for some of the large-river endemic fishes <br />that are threatened or endangered. The major contribution of the Yarnpa to <br />continued survival of these fishes was considered to be its effect on the <br />Green River below the confluence of the two streams, and Seethaler et al. <br />(1976) stated that "Our concern is that any alteration of the Yampa River <br />or its tributaries could have a serious negative impact upon this amelior- <br />ating effect." <br />18 <br />