Rio Grande cutthroat trout typically spawn between mid-May and mid-June. Males are sexually mature at age two; females mature at age three. They live an average of five years, but in rare cases, may survive into their teens. Rio Grande cutthroat feed opportunistically on aquatic insects and terrestrialinsects that fall into the water.
Description
Rio Grande cutthroat trout have variably shaped[10] spots located mostly posteriorly,[8][10][11] with fewer and smaller spots above the anterior lateral line. Basibranchial teeth are not prominent or may be absent.[10] Color is variable but often includes red, orange or pink on the opercula and throat, bright rosy to drab olive flanks and yellow-orange undersides.[8][10][11]
Conservation status
Rio Grande cutthroat have the distinction of being the southernmost subspecies of cutthroat trout. However, due to the loss of populations across their native range and reports of Rio Grande cutthroat in Mexico and Texas, it is unclear how far south this trout once occurred. The Mexican reports have been all but dismissed, but Garrett and Matlock (1991) provided evidence indicating that Rio Grande cutthroat were likely native to Texas. Today the southernmost known populations are found on the eastern flanks of the Gila Mountains in Southern New Mexico.[12]
Rio Grande cutthroats currently live on 700 miles of stream in the Santa Fe National Forest, which is approximately 91% of their historical range. The Rio Grande cutthroat trout was a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act from 2008 to 2014.
In 2014 it was removed from candidacy as it was determined that listing was not warranted for this species.[10][13] The ruling was challenged by the Center for Biological Diversity, however, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reevaluate the species' candidacy.[14]: 41570
^Trotter, Patrick C. (2008). "Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout". Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. pp. 421–447. ISBN978-0-520-25458-9.
^Fishery Science Consultant (retired) 4926 26th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98108, USA; Trotter, Patrick; Bisson, Peter; U.S. Forest Service (emeritus), Pacific Northwest Research Station 3625 83rd Avenue SW, Olympia, Washington 95812, USA, eds. (2018), "Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy", American Fisheries Society, doi:10.47886/9781934874509.ch13, ISBN978-1-934874-50-9, retrieved 2024-08-07{{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
^Fishery Science Consultant (retired) 4926 26th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98108, USA; Trotter, Patrick; Bisson, Peter; U.S. Forest Service (emeritus), Pacific Northwest Research Station 3625 83rd Avenue SW, Olympia, Washington 95812, USA, eds. (2018), "Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy", American Fisheries Society, doi:10.47886/9781934874509.ch1, ISBN978-1-934874-50-9, retrieved 2024-08-07{{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
^Fishery Science Consultant (retired) 4926 26th Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98108, USA; Trotter, Patrick; Bisson, Peter; U.S. Forest Service (emeritus), Pacific Northwest Research Station 3625 83rd Avenue SW, Olympia, Washington 95812, USA, eds. (2018), "Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy", American Fisheries Society, doi:10.47886/9781934874509.ch2, ISBN978-1-934874-50-9, retrieved 2024-08-07{{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
^ abc"State Fish". About New Mexico. New Mexico Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
^Behnke, Robert J.; Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator) (2002). "Cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki". Trout and Salmon of North America. The Free Press. p. 139. ISBN0-7432-2220-2.
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