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<br /> <br />backwaters, Clehlids are tropical In distrloutwn, and <br />the lower RIO YaquI IS the nurrht'rnmost bml[ of <br />narural OccurreOle of thiS ~roup on the West coast of <br />Mexico. Smaluan Clch!Jds ,maIO lr-ngths of at least 25 <br />em and wel~h[s of 0.-' k~. :-";uthmt: IS known of ItS <br />breeding hJbih. but most speCIes of thiS .croup <br />spawn in sprmg and summer. Young art' a~ressJH'Jy <br />guarded OF .I rarent until large enough h) (end for <br />themseln's. Tht,~. then mo'\"(.. (0 qUiet vegt'tdtt'd areas <br />(() fer-J .1Od ~row ClchJiJ spt'(les sometimes have <br />hIghly speCIalIzed food habItS. bur SmJluan C1chlids <br />appear to be gener.llisrs. feedmg on Jl:trital m.ltetl,tls. <br />m\.ertebra[es. Jnd J.quatlc vtgetation, <br /> <br />Marine Species <br /> <br />It would be rt'mlss nO! tll mclude a few marme <br />componenb of the fish faunJs of these two rlH'r <br />basms, espcually since A4UMIC t"lllnmunJtles of the <br />deltas recelH'd essentially no srud~. bt'i'ort' they \H're <br />highl~. modlflr-d or csst:ntialJy destroyed by upsue.lm <br />developmems, ~lost fish species from [hI: Gulf of <br />Calitornia sC.lrcel~. pr-ne[rned tht. C"lllrJJo Rin'r <br />upstream pJsr the zont" of tidal mlluenct'. Only <br />striped mullttllu.:/ ,Hld P.1clflt" tt'npoufHkrlm"drtff <br />mm'ed far Inland. The gLint totoab.lff"rt,...h" IFlj.;. 71), <br />endemiC tn the upper Gulf of Cliifornia, spawns In <br />till: Color,ldl) RI\'r-r estuarr, and was an ImrlHtant <br />commercial fIsh In tht, paSL It has .II most <br />dIsappeared Jue to o\'crllshing anJ likdy .IS .I result <br />of ch.lOges followln~ construction of m.tinsueam <br />dams In the Umtr-d :-;t.ltes. <br /> <br />A substantially larger marmc fauna existed on the <br />RIO YaquI delta Suipt,J mullet (Fig, 72) art" <br />common, and comprise a mJtor resource (or <br />:'I.lexJcan fishermen, Other kinds of mullets are <br />present, relleumg the tropical influences In thiS more <br />southern faunA St:a HoutS .Ire present. And snooks <br />comt:' Into distributaries and m()\"t" .IS far upsrream <br />as tht. dam ,It Presa AhH(l ObreFon. more [han 100 <br />km from the sr-J. ~lache[t." alSlI is present. as are twO <br />nUflne uttlshcs. <br />Tilt" most upstream record for striped mullet In <br />tht" Colmado RJver IS m-ar Bl},th(', CJ!J{ornia, About <br />500 km from the sea. PacifIC tt:'nptlunJt'r (Fig. 7,H <br />mon'd about half that dlstanct:', [0 near YumJ.. <br />ArllOnJ. B,>th occupll:d the Salt()n Se.1 after it <br />fiUed In 1905-07, but dIsappeared .lIter a few <br />~.C,HS, presumahly Jue ro lack of reproductive <br />SU(ct"ss Both species now mo\.e upstream in the Rio <br />Yaqui (0 the Insurmllum"ble dam formmg Presa <br />Alvaro Obrt:',gon. There is no Information on their <br />dlstrihutLllns prh)[ to construction of that dAm. <br />~I.lchcte rardy excel:d 56 em long In the lower <br />Colorado Rner. bur they Jdlll:\'e 91 em or more In <br />length In the sea. Its major prey He small plankton. <br />feeding tishes such as anchOVies that school in rich <br />t"stuarme areas, <br />Striped mullt.t fLlrm a suhst,lntl.ll part l)f the fish <br />fauna In mouths of maJnr tropical and subtropical <br />rivers worlJwidl:. They remain J.n Imptlrtam <br />comp,>m'nt of the deltaic fIsh community of the <br />lower Colorado Rlvt"r. feedinf; mostly on detritus. <br />!lndy dl\'Jdt"d or~,InJc materials that J.ccumulate In <br />qUIt"[ places. ~lul1et [yplcally spJwn In the sea. And <br /> <br />~~ll~~~ <br /> <br />... <br /> <br />Figure 71 ThIS pholograph 01 a <br />totoabaJroroBba being handled on <br />a research vessel provides a <br />perspective of the size 01 fhls <br />glanl endemic 01 the Gulf 01 <br />California, Pholograph provided <br />by J. A. Hendrickson. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />-J <br /> <br />36 <br />