Thicktail chub
Encyclopedia
The Thicktail chub was a type of minnow
that inhabited the lowlands and weedy backwaters of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin River
s in the Central Valley of California
. It was once abundant in lowland lake
s, marsh
es, pond
s, slow-moving stretches of river, and, during years of heavy run-off, the surface waters of San Francisco Bay
. The thicktail chub was one of the most common fish in California; at the turn of the 20th century it comprised over 40% of the fish population of the Sacramento River.
The chub was a favored food of the native Indian
peoples of Clear Lake and the Central Valley before being heavily exploited by commercial fishermen supplying the San Francisco market. A heavy-bodied fish with a thick tail and a small, cone-shaped head, the backs of the thicktail chub ranged in color from greenish-brown to purplish black, while the sides and belly were yellow. It could reach a length of nearly ten inches. Although little is known about its behavior, it was probably carnivorous, feeding on small fish and invertebrate
s.
The primary cause of the thicktailed chub’s extinction was the conversion of much of the Central Valley to agricultural use. Most of its habitat was destroyed by the drainage of sloughs and marshes, dam-building, and water diversion for irrigation. All this resulted in the loss of the sluggish water the species preferred. Competition from exotic species and hybridization with the introduced Hitch minnow also contributed to its extinction. The last known example was caught in the late 1950s.
Minnow
Minnow is a general term used to refer to small freshwater and saltwater fish, especially those used as bait fish or for fishing bait. More specifically, it refers to small freshwater fish of the carp family.-True minnows:...
that inhabited the lowlands and weedy backwaters of the Sacramento
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
and San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
s in the Central Valley of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It was once abundant in lowland lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s, marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
s, slow-moving stretches of river, and, during years of heavy run-off, the surface waters of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. The thicktail chub was one of the most common fish in California; at the turn of the 20th century it comprised over 40% of the fish population of the Sacramento River.
The chub was a favored food of the native Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
peoples of Clear Lake and the Central Valley before being heavily exploited by commercial fishermen supplying the San Francisco market. A heavy-bodied fish with a thick tail and a small, cone-shaped head, the backs of the thicktail chub ranged in color from greenish-brown to purplish black, while the sides and belly were yellow. It could reach a length of nearly ten inches. Although little is known about its behavior, it was probably carnivorous, feeding on small fish and invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s.
The primary cause of the thicktailed chub’s extinction was the conversion of much of the Central Valley to agricultural use. Most of its habitat was destroyed by the drainage of sloughs and marshes, dam-building, and water diversion for irrigation. All this resulted in the loss of the sluggish water the species preferred. Competition from exotic species and hybridization with the introduced Hitch minnow also contributed to its extinction. The last known example was caught in the late 1950s.