Blue chub
Blue chub | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Genus: | Gila |
Species: | G. coerulea
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Binomial name | |
Gila coerulea Girard, 1856
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The blue chub (Gila coerulea) is a
Relatively slender among chubs, it has larger eyes than most and a terminal mouth that extends back nearly as far as the forward edge of the eye. Color is a nondescript dusky shade on the back and silvery on the sides; the name comes from the males at breeding time, whose snout becomes noticeably blue, along with orange tinges on the sides and the fins. There are 9 rays in the dorsal fin, 8-9 in the anal fin, and 14-17 in each pectoral. Length ranges up to 41 cm.
Blue chubs have a varied diet, including both aquatic and terrestrial
Spawning extends from May through August, typically over shallow gravelled areas, of depths of 0.5 meters or less. Each female is attended by two or more males, who agitate the water and thrust against her while she lays
Although not officially listed as a threatened species, and common within their
References
- . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- "Gila coerulea". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
- Peter B. Moyle, Inland Fishes of California (University of California Press, 2002), pp. 128–130
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Gila coerulea" in FishBase. April 2006 version.