Fishes of Sespe Creek, California
Encyclopedia
Sespe Creek
winds over thirty-one miles through valleys and sometimes very narrow canyons in the Los Padres National Forest
in Ventura County, California
.
The creek starts at Portero Seco, and is formed by more than thirty tributary streams before it empties into the Santa Clara River
in Fillmore
. Sespe Creek is a National Scenic Waterway, and is one of the longest creeks untouched by dams or cement channels.
The Sespe Creek area is probably more famous for its 53000 acres (214.5 km²) Condor Sanctuary created in 1947.
This is where the California Condor
(Gymnogyps californicus) has been re-introduced into the Sespe Condor Sanctuary
after a successful breeding program at the San Diego Zoo
.
At least twelve native and introduced fishes can be found in the creek:
First of these is the Pacific Lamprey Lampertra tridenteta The lamprey enters Sespe Creek from the Santa Clara River- which empties in the Pacific Ocean.
A more common fish is the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus which is easily identified by its three dorsal spines.
The Santa Ana Sucker Catostomus santaanae is common around waterfalls.
The Arroyo Chub Gila Orcutti is often found in schools. The Green sunfish
Lepomis cyanellus can be found in shallow, weedy areas.
Sespe Creek
Sespe Creek is a stream, some long, in Ventura County, California, in the United States. The creek starts at Potrero Seco in the Sierra Madre Mountains, and is formed by more than thirty tributary streams before it empties into the Santa Clara River in Fillmore. Thirty-one miles of Sespe Creek are...
winds over thirty-one miles through valleys and sometimes very narrow canyons in the Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland...
in Ventura County, California
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
.
The creek starts at Portero Seco, and is formed by more than thirty tributary streams before it empties into the Santa Clara River
Santa Clara River (California)
The Santa Clara River is approximately long, located in southern California in the United States. It drains an area of the coastal mountains north of Los Angeles. The Santa Clara is one of the largest river systems along the coast of Southern California and one of only a few remaining river...
in Fillmore
Fillmore, California
Fillmore is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 15,002 at the 2010 census, up from 13,643 at the 2000 census.- History :...
. Sespe Creek is a National Scenic Waterway, and is one of the longest creeks untouched by dams or cement channels.
The Sespe Creek area is probably more famous for its 53000 acres (214.5 km²) Condor Sanctuary created in 1947.
This is where the California Condor
California Condor
The California Condor is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and coastal mountains of central and southern California and northern Baja California...
(Gymnogyps californicus) has been re-introduced into the Sespe Condor Sanctuary
Sespe Condor Sanctuary
Sespe Condor Sanctuary is a wildlife refuge in the Los Padres National Forest. The United States Forest Service established the sanctuary in 1947 for the California condor, which is an endangered species and the largest living bird in North America...
after a successful breeding program at the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
.
At least twelve native and introduced fishes can be found in the creek:
- Pacific LampreyPacific lampreyThe Pacific lamprey is an anadromous parasitic lamprey from the Pacific Coast of North America and Asia. It is also known as the three tooth lamprey and tridentate lamprey.-Biology:...
- Threespine Stickleback
- Santa Ana SuckerSanta Ana SuckerThe Santa Ana Sucker, Catostomus santaanae, is a sucker, endemic to California and found only in a handful of rivers in southern California.-Description:...
- Arroyo ChubArroyo chubThe arroyo chub Gila orcuttii is a cyprinid fish found only in the coastal streams of southern California, United States.The shape of the arroyo chub is somewhat chunky, with a deep body and thick caudal peduncle. The eyes are larger than average for cyprinids...
- Green sunfishGreen sunfishThe green sunfish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usually caught by accident, while fishing for other game fish...
(introduced) - Rainbow troutRainbow troutThe rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
(Steelhead) - Prickly Sculpin
- Fathead MinnowFathead minnowThe fathead minnow , is a species of temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Pimephales genus of the cyprinid family. The natural geographic range extends throughout much of North America, from central Canada south along the Rockies to Texas, and east to Virginia and the Northeastern United...
(introduced) - Black bullheadBlack bullheadThe black bullhead, Ameiurus melas, is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels located near its mouth, a broad head, spiny fins and no scales...
(introduced) - MosquitofishMosquitofishThe mosquitofish is a species of freshwater fish, also commonly, if ambiguously, known by its generic name, gambusia. It is sometimes called the western mosquitofish, to distinguish it from the eastern mosquitofish . It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes...
(introduced) - Golden shinerGolden shinerThe golden shiner is a cyprinid fish native to eastern North America. It is the sole member of its genus. Much used as a bait fish, it is probably the most widely pond-cultured fish in the United States.-Description:...
(introduced) - Threadfin shad (introduced)
First of these is the Pacific Lamprey Lampertra tridenteta The lamprey enters Sespe Creek from the Santa Clara River- which empties in the Pacific Ocean.
A more common fish is the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus which is easily identified by its three dorsal spines.
The Santa Ana Sucker Catostomus santaanae is common around waterfalls.
The Arroyo Chub Gila Orcutti is often found in schools. The Green sunfish
Green sunfish
The green sunfish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usually caught by accident, while fishing for other game fish...
Lepomis cyanellus can be found in shallow, weedy areas.