The Railroad Valley springfish, ''Crenichthys nevadae'', is a rare goodeid

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

of the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

of western United States, occurring naturally in just seven thermal springs of

Railroad Valley Railroad Valley is one of the Central Nevada Desert Basins in the Tonopah Basin and is about long north–south and up to wide, with some southern areas running southwest to northeast. Description The southern end of the valley begins near Gra ...

Nye County, Nevada Nye County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah, Nevada, Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area ...

. The body gives a somewhat heavy or massive impression, particularly forward, the head being almost as wide as deep. Each side has a distinctive row of dark blotches, with pale bars in between. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s are entirely absent, while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

is large, with 13 rays. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

is set far back on the body, just above the anal fin, and is somewhat smaller than the anal fin, with 12 rays. This springfish is

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

, with animal food representing 2/3 or more of its consumption during the summer, primarily consisting of

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

s. Plant consumption is mostly filamentous

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

. While intestine length is consistent with an omnivore, Sigler & Sigler suggest that the high water temperatures of the springfish habitat may demand the higher energy available with animal food. The warm springs in which these are found range in temperature from 77 to 102 °F (25 to 39 °C). The Railroad Valley springfish is federally listed as a species threatened with extinction. Its extremely limited range makes it vulnerable to competition from introduced species, and to habitat modifications. For instance, it was nearly eliminated from Duckwater Spring in the early 1980s by introduced

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus''), known informally as the "channel cat", is a species of catfish native to North America. They are North America's most abundant catfish species, and the official state fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebra ...

. The springfish has been introduced to Chimney Springs and Hot Creek Canyon in

References

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FWS page for Railroad Valley springfish

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3756319

Railroad Valley springfish The Railroad Valley springfish, ''Crenichthys nevadae'', is a rare goodeid fish of the Great Basin of western United States, occurring naturally in just seven thermal springs of Railroad Valley in Nye County, Nevada. The body gives a somewhat he ...

Endemic fauna of Nevada Freshwater fish of the United States Fish described in 1932 Taxa named by Carl Leavitt Hubbs