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<br />/ FACT SHEET Y <br />Humpback chub (Gila cypha) <br /> <br />Status: <br /> <br />Listed as endangered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1964; given full protection under the Endangered <br />Species Act of 1973. <br />Endangered under Colorado law since 1976. <br />Listed as "protected" in Utah law since 1973. <br /> <br />Description: <br /> <br />The pronounced hump behind its head gives the humpback chub a striking, unusual appearance. A member of the <br />mirmow family, the humpback chub has a brown or olive-colored back and silver sides, small eyes and a long snout <br />that ovemangs its jaw. They can grow to nearly 20 inches and may survive more than 30 years in the wild. <br />Humpback chub are thought to have evolved about 10,000 years ago. <br /> <br />Distribution: <br /> <br />Historically, the humpback chub inhabited portions of the Colorado River and four of its tributaries: the Green, <br />Yampa. White and Little Colorado riven;. Now, the largest known populations are in the Little Colorado River in the <br />Grand Canyon. where there may be up to 10,000 fish. and in tJie Colorado River near the ColoradolUtah border. <br />Smaller numben; have been found in the Yampa 3m! Green riven; in Dinosaur National Monument. Desolation and <br />Gray canyons on the Green River in Utah, Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River in Utah and the Colorado River <br />in Arizona. There are no population estimates available for the upper Colorado River Basin. <br /> <br />Spawning: <br /> <br />These fish spawn as young as 3 years and at lengths as small as 5 inches. Their spawning season is between March <br />and July. . <br />