<br />in the mainstream Colorado River near Yuma ("Fort Yuma," Jordan and
<br />Everman, 1986; see also Meek, 1904 and Follett, 1961); thence upstream
<br />to the Virgin River system in Utah (Fig. 1). However, from biological
<br />considerations alone, there is good reason to believe that woundfin
<br />occurred further upstream on the Verde, Salt, and Gila rivers.
<br />As detailed by Miller and Hubbs (1960), the stated type locality "San
<br />Luis Valley, Western Colorado (Cope 1874)," was an obvious error, many
<br />~!, of which were perpetrated by collectors associated with the Wheeler
<br />Survey in 1871 to-1874. Miller and Hubbs also rejected as erroneous
<br />locality data the records from the "Colorado Chiquito River, Arizona"
<br />(Bohlke, 1953) on the basis of no other indications that the fish ever
<br />inhabited that stream. The Wheeler expedition maintained a base at
<br />Toquerville, Washington County, Utah, in 1872, on LaVerkin Creek (Wheeler,
<br />1889), from where they worked in the Virgin River canyon and traveled
<br />to St. G+~orge. It seems likely that the type series of P. argentissimus
<br />was taken from the mainstream Virgin River (Miller and Hubb, 1960).
<br />PRESENT DISTRIBUTION
<br />Woundfin range from LaVerkin Springs on the mainstream of the Virgin
<br />River and the lower portion of LaVerkin Creek in Utah, downstream to
<br />Lake Mead, Nevada (Fig. 2). A single specimen was taken from the middle
<br />Moapa River, Clark County, Nevada, in the late 1960's (Deacon and Bradley,
<br />1972). The Moapa River was formerly a tributary to the Virgin River, but
<br />both streams now flow into Lake Mead. The species has been transplanted
<br />into four localities in attempts to establish populations. In one locality,
<br />the Hassayampa River in Arizona, reproduction occurred in the summer of
<br />1972 but a flood in September of 1972 evidently destroyed the entire pop-
<br />ulation because subsequent collecting efforts have failed to yield any
<br />woundfin (Minekley, pers. comm., 1977). In March, 1972 they were also
<br />placed in the Salt River, Arizona, but none have been taken there since.
<br />~: In Sycamore Creek, Agua Fria drainage, Arizona, a few specimens stocked.
<br />in spring, 1972 survived-the severe flooding of 1972-3, and two individuals
<br />collected in late August, 1973 were gravid. None has been collected in
<br />Sycamore Creek since 1973. The fourth locality,-the Paria River, Arizona-
<br />Utah, was stocked several times between 1969 and 1972. No woundfin were
<br />found during surveys in May, 1974 and May, 1975 (Unpub. Data, Arizona Game
<br />~', and Fish Stocking Records).
<br />HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
<br />~~ Woundfin are most often collected from runs over sand bottoms, usually
<br />near some type of cover, where the average water depth is 25 cm (+19)
<br />and where the average current is 0.42 m/sec (+0.28) (Cross, 1975). They
<br />appear to prefer physically unmodified habitats, but are found in areas
<br />that have been greatly modified. Woundfin reach peak abundance in areas
<br />of mobile sand bottom where the substrate shifts slowly downstream under
<br />the influence of near-laminar currents. Depths preferred by the species
<br />3
<br />appear to range from 5 to 35 centimeters but disturbed fish move rapidly
<br />
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