Fishes of Southwestern Grasslands: Ecology, Conservation, and Management

Abstract

The world possesses an amazing number and variety of freshwater fishes. Fish, the most diverse taxon on Earth, exhibit more species than all vertebrate taxa combined (Hocutt and Wiley 1986, May 1988, Nelson 1994, Matthews 1998) (table 5-1). Worldwide, an estimated 28,500 fish species are in 57 orders and 482 families (Nelson 1994). The North American freshwater fish fauna is also relatively rich and highly diverse ranging from primitive forms such as the Petromyzontidae (lampreys) to more modern and advanced forms such as the Percidae (perches) (Miller 1959, Gilbert 1976, Briggs 1986, Cavender 1986, Nelson 1994). Currently, there are about 1,000 known freshwater fish species representing 50 families in 201 genera in an area from Canada and Alaska south to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Gilbert 1976, Lee and others 1980, Briggs 1986, Mayden 1992a,b). Some of these fish families are endemic to North America whereas others are also found on bordering continents (Briggs 1986). Despite persistent research for more than 100 years, numbers of described fishes in North America continue to increase over time.Individual papers from this publication

Parent Publication

• Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States: Wildlife and fish. Vol. 2

Citation

Calamusso, Bob. 2005. Fishes of Southwestern Grasslands: Ecology, Conservation, and Management. In: Finch, Deborah M., Editor. 2005. Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States: wildlife and fish—volume 2. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-135-vol. 2. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 141-168