Utah Lake sculpin

The Utah Lake sculpin, Cottus echinatus, was a species of freshwater sculpin endemic to Utah Lake, located in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. The last collected specimen was taken in 1928, and the species is believed to have disappeared during the 1930s, when a severe drought led to a rapid fall in water levels in the lake. A cold winter led to the lake freezing, resulting in the overcrowding of the remaining fish. This, along with decreased water quality from agricultural practices, has been identified as the likely cause of extinction.

Utah Lake sculpin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Cottus
Species:
C. echinatus
Binomial name
Cottus echinatus
R. M. Bailey & C. E. Bond, 1963

The Utah Lake sculpin was a benthic species (bottom dwelling), invertebrates constituting its major source of food. It was one of two lake-dwelling sculpins native to Utah, the other being the Bear Lake sculpin.

References

  1. NatureServe (2013). "Cottus echinatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2013: e.T5438A15361621. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T5438A15361621.en. Retrieved 15 January 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.