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

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

of the Great Basin of western United States, occurring naturally in just seven thermal springs of Railroad Valley in

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

. 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 surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two e ...

s are entirely absent, while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

is large, with 13 rays. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

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 has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, with animal food representing 2/3 or more of its consumption during the summer, primarily consisting of gastropods. Plant consumption is mostly filamentous

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from ...

. 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 degrees F (25 to 39 C). Although the Railroad Valley springfish is not currently 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 The Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone, based in central Nevada in the high desert Railroad Valley, in northern Nye County. Their autonym is ''Tsaidüka'' in their Shoshoni l ...

in the early 1980s by introduced

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, th ...

. The springfish has been introduced to

Chimney Springs A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are ty ...

and in

Hot Creek Canyon Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink * Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

References

* *
FWS page for Railroad Valley springfish

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3756319 Railroad Valley springfish Endemic fauna of Nevada Freshwater fish of the United States ESA threatened species Fish described in 1932 Taxa named by Carl Leavitt Hubbs