Flame chub
Flame chub | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Subfamily: | Leuciscinae |
Genus: | Hemitremia Cope, 1870 |
Species: | H. flammea
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Binomial name | |
Hemitremia flammea (D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert in Jordan, 1878)
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Synonyms | |
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The flame chub (Hemitremia flammea) is a species of freshwater fish in the family
Anatomy and appearance
The flame chub can be characterized by a deep caudal peduncle, short head and snout, small slightly subterminal mouth, and a barely compressed body. The dorsal fin originates slightly behind the pelvic fin origin. 7 - 8 anal soft rays, incomplete lateral line with 38 - 44 lateral scales, fewer than half of scales pored, pharyngeal teeth 2,5-4,2. Coloration is olive on the upper half of the body with a dark stripe along the back and dark streaks, bordered by a light stripe then black stripe ending at black caudal spot or wedge. White to red below, with bright scarlet along anterior third of body and at base of dorsal fin in large fish (primarily males) and silver peritoneum flecked with black. Males are more colorful than females, and both sexes are more colorful during spawning season.[3] Flame chubs can grow to a maximum of 7.8 centimeters (3.1 in) long.[4]
Geographic distribution
Due to habitat alteration and destruction, the flame chub currently has a patchy range. The species primarily occurs in the Tennessee River Valley from the Knoxville, Tennessee area downstream through Alabama to the mouth of the Duck River in Tennessee. The majority of the population in Alabama resides in the Highland Rim or Cumberland Plateau regions.[5] A single isolated population occurs in north Georgia in the Tiger Creek watershed of Catoosa County. In Alabama (which comprises approximately 50% of the remaining range of this species), only two populations are on public protected land, with the rest of the flame chub's habitat occurring on privately owned land. As such, the survival and further assessment of this species in Alabama is almost totally reliant on cooperation with private land owners.[6]
Ecology
While often cited by literature that the flame chub inhabits spring-fed streams, shallow seepage waters, and springs, usually over gravel in areas of abundant aquatic vegetation,[7][3] substrate the species found over can vary from bedrock to rubble to mud and may be found in areas of low flow near the bank of large streams.[8] A study by P. W. Shute notes that although the flame chub is often described as a spring-dwelling species, only 37 of 231 collection localities were springs.[citation needed] Despite this, the species can still be found primarily in association with spring heads, as most collection localities are found within watersheds that are fed by springs. Most documented records of this species are found in small streams. It has been hypothesized that this species is migratory within its range, either travelling from its native stream to headwaters for spawning, or existing in metapopulations with the springs serving as both sources for the stream localities and as refugia.[1] It has also been observed that adult flame chubs may aggregate in flooded fields and pastures for spawning.[7][5] Due to the fragile nature of springs and their tributaries, human expansion has caused further disjunction in the range of this already narrow endemic species.[6] As of 2014, IUCN considers this species to be Near Threatened due to ongoing threats from introduced non-native fish species and human habitat alteration.
The temperature of sampled streams where flame chubs are known to occur ranged from 24 °C (75 °F) in July to 8 °C (46 °F) in February.
Life history
One Tennessee study of flame chub hatching found that hatching began in early May (and possibly earlier) and continued through late May.[11] Gravel is a very important factor in the breeding patterns of these fish, as it is necessary for filtration of extremely clean water as well as bottom stability for a species that spends a lot of its time in the benthos area of the stream.[12][13] No data are available pertaining to the species' lifespan.[4]
Conservation and management
This species is currently listed as
References
- ^ . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Hemitremia flammea". NatureServe Explorer An online encyclopedia of life. 7.1. NatureServe. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ JSTOR 1446175.
- ^ a b Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 434 p.
- ^ JSTOR 1447314.
- ^ ISSN 1863-5407.
- ^ doi:10.2172/10105296.
- ^ JSTOR 1439866.
- ^ Sossamon, Marcia (1990-12-01). "The Life History of the Flame Chub, Hemitremia flammea (Jordan and Gilbert), in Pond Creek, Loudon County, Tennessee". Masters Theses.
- ISSN 0042-658X.
- ^ Bettoli, Phillip W.; Goldsworthy, Cory. 2011. Larval Fish Dynamics in Spring Pools in Middle Tennessee. Southeastern Naturalist: 145-154.
- ^ Lachner, EA. 1950. The Comparative Food Habits of the Cyprinid Fishes Nocomis bigguttatus and Nocomis micropogon in Western New York. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 40:229-236.
- ^ Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes, 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. (pls. check date).
- ^ Long, J; Schorr, MS. 2005. Effects of watershed urban land use on environmental conditions and fish assemblages in Chattanooga area streams (Tennessee-Georgia). Journal of Freshwater Ecology: 527-537.