Devil's Hole pupfish
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cyprinodontiformes Family: Cyprinodontidae Genus: Cyprinodon Species: C. diabolis
Binomial name
Cyprinodon diabolis Wales, 1930

The Devil's Hole pupfish, Cyprinodon diabolis, is an endangered species of fish native to Devil's Hole, a geothermal (92°F), aquifer-fed pool within a limestone cavern in the Amargosa Desert of Nevada east of Death Valley. It is the smallest desert pupfish species, averaging 19 mm in length. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn2. ... This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Anablepidae (four-eyed fish) Cyprinodontidae (pupfish) Fundulidae Goodeidae Rivulinidae Poeciliidae (live-bearers) (and others) The Cyprinodontiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, also called the Microcyprini, and comprising mostly small, fresh-water fish. ... Genera Aphanius Cualac Cubanichthys Cyprinodon Floridichthys Garmanella Jordanella Lebias Megupsilon Orestias The pupfishes are a group of small fishes belonging to ten or so genera of the family Cyprinodontidae of ray-finned fish, and are related to the killifishes. ... Species Cyprinodon is a genus of small killifish belonging to the family Cyprinodontidae (pupfish) of ray-finned fish. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... The critically endangered Siberian Tiger, a rare subspecies of tiger. ... Devils Hole is a deep limestone cave filled with water of approximately 30°C (86°F). ... Geothermal power is electricity generated by utilizing naturally occurring geological heat sources. ... An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Alternate meanings: Cave (disambiguation) This article is about natural caves; for artificial caves used as dwellings, such as those in north China, see yaodong. ... Amargosa Desert The Amargosa Desert is located in western Nevada, USA, along the border with California. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Death Valley and Panamint Range The salt lake at Badwater, Death Valley is the lowest point in western hemisphere. ... Genera Aphanius Cualac Cubanichthys Cyprinodon Floridichthys Garmanella Jordanella Lebias Megupsilon Orestias See text for species. ...

Physical Description

Devil's Hole pupfish are less than 2.5 cm long and resemble other pupfish in shape. They lack pelvic fins and have large heads and long anal fins. Breeding males are solid deep blue and have a black band on the caudal fin. Genera Aphanius Cualac Cubanichthys Cyprinodon Floridichthys Garmanella Jordanella Lebias Megupsilon Orestias See text for species. ...

Population

The natural population at Devil's Hole fluctuates depending on the season.[1] Low algae growth and other winter conditions cause spring populations to range only from 150 to 250; they swell to 400 to 500 individuals in the fall. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ... Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. ... Spring is one of the four seasons of temperate zones, the transition from winter into summer. ... Autumn (also known as fall in North American English) is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition from summer into winter. ...

Several other populations of Devil's Hole pupfish have been established in artificial refuges that mimic the environment of Devil's Hole. These populations also fluctuate by season and are monitored regularly.

History

Devil's Hole pupfish have been the subject of considerable attention and litigation, due to their ancient origins, unusual habitat, and precarious existence. A 22,000 year old species, these pupfish depend on a shallowly submerged limestone shelf of only 2x4 meters in area for spawning as well as for much of their diet (primarily diatoms). Natural threats from flash floods to earthquakes have been known to disrupt this fragile ecosystem, but the major threat has been groundwater depletion due to agricultural irrigation. Frog spawn Spawning is the production or depositing of eggs in large numbers by aquatic animals. ... Diatoms are the most common of the eukaryotic algae. ... Flash flooding is rapid flooding of low-lying areas, rivers and creeks that is caused by the intense rainfall associated with a thunderstorm, or multiple training thunderstorms. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. ... Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of geologic formations. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ...

C. diabolis was first noticed in 1890 but only identified as a unique and highly divergent species by Joseph Wales in 1930. Formal protection of the species began in 1952 when Devil's Hole was made part of Death Valley National Monument (now Death Valley National Park). Endangered species designation occurred in 1967, followed by the formation in 1969 of the Desert Fishes Council to fight agricultural interests for the protection of the fish. Water rights litigation went all the way to the US Supreme Court who in the 1976 Cappaert v. United States decision ruled against neighboring land developers. 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Death Valley National Park is a mostly-arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County, California with a small extension and exclave (Devils Hole) in Nye County, Nevada. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... Water Rights refers to a legal system for allocating water from a water source to water users. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

A number of artificial refugia (concrete tanks approximating conditions in Devil's Hole) have been established to ensure species survival should the natural population at Devil's Hole die out: one at Hoover Dam established in 1972 (reported 2004 population, 79), and two near Devil's Hole itself within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge established in 1980 and 1991 that comprise the Amargosa Pupfish Station (with populations fluctuating between 90 and 120 depending on season). Hoover Dam Hoover Dam ( ), also known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete gravity-arch dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is a protected wildlife refuge, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located 90 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Amargosa Pupfish Station is a protected wildlife refuge located in the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, administered by the National Park Service, located 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada in Nye County. ...

In May of 2005, nine pupfish were moved from the hole and a Federal Hatchery to both a Las Vegas Strip casino aquarium and another Federal Hatchery in hopes of augmenting the population.^[2] The south end of The Strip. ...

In November 2005, divers counted just 84 individuals in the Devil's Hole population, the same as the spring population, despite observations of egg-laying and baby fish during the summer. As much as half of the population was estimated to have been destroyed during the summer of 2004 when a flash flood pushed a quantity of scientific equipment into the hole; later about 60 cubic feet of debris, washed into the cave by floods, was removed. Reasons for the continued decline remain unknown, although one possibility is to add some artificial lighting to encourage growth of the algae that the pupfish eat.

Two males from the hole and two females from a hatchery at Hoover Dam were moved to the Shark Reef aquarium and exhibit at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. Another five younger pupfish were moved to the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery in Arizona in order to establish the pupfish in aquaria. 36 adults are believed to still reside in the hole after the moves. Mandalay Bay casino from the north Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is a hotel/casino on the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. ...

Other nearby Cyprinodons

• Death Valley Pupfish, Cyprinodon salinus
• Shoshone Pupfish, Cyprinodon nevadensis shoshone
• Tecopa Pupfish, Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae (extinct)

The Death Valley Pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus) is a species of fish that is the last known survivor of what is thought to have been an large ecosystem of fish species that lived in Lake Manly which dried up at the end of the last ice age leaving the present day... Binomial name Cyprinodon salinus Miller, 1943 Subspecies See text. ... The Shoshone Pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis shoshone) is characterized by large scales and a slab-sided, narrow, slender body, with the arch of the ventral contour much less pronounced than the dorsal. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Tecopa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae of the family Cyprinodontidae) was found in 1948 in the Tecopa Hot Springs in California. ... Trinomial name Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae (Miller, 1948) The Tecopa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis calidae), a subspecies of the Saratoga pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis) from the family Cyprinodontidae was discovered in 1942 in the Tecopa Hot Springs in California. ...

References

1. ^ Gimenez Dixon (1996). Cyprinodon diabolis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU D1+2 v2.3)
2. ^ Rare Devils Hole Pupfish Moved to Hatchery By Ken Ritter, Associated Press Writer Sat May 20, 3:34 AM ET

• "Cyprinodon diabolis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. December 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
• Scientists have devil of a time with pupfish by Launce Rake, Las Vegas Sun, December 21, 2005

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ... The Las Vegas Sun was one of Las Vegas, Nevadas two daily newspapers. ...

See also

• Pupfish

Genera Aphanius Cualac Cubanichthys Cyprinodon Floridichthys Garmanella Jordanella Lebias Megupsilon Orestias See text for species. ...

External links

• Devil's Hole Pupfish - Cyprinodon diabolis by Tom Baugh and James E. Deacon
• Pupfish hang on near Hoover Dam by Kevin Rogers
• Desert Fishes Council