Critically Endangered
Moapa dace
Moapa coriacea
This is a rare fish found in southern Nevada, United States, found only in the upper parts of the Muddy (formerly Moapa) River, and in the warm springs that give rise to the river.
Appearance
A small fish, with a maximum recorded length of 9 cm (3.5 in), its scales are small and embedded in the skin, resulting in a noticeably leathery texture (thus the species epithet, derived from Latin coriaceus "leathery").
Range and habitat
This is a rare fish found in southern Nevada, United States, found only in the upper parts of the Muddy (formerly Moapa) River, and in the warm springs that give rise to the river. Moapa dace require warm water, and can survive in a temperature range of 67 to 93 °F (19 to 34 °C). Their reproduction cycle peaks in spring and is the lowest in fall, occurring in headwater tributaries.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Habits
Spawning occurs within 150 m (490 ft) of headwaters springs, in water temperatures of 30–32 °C (86–90 °F).
In crisis
Moapa dace were federally listed as endangered in 1967. In 1994, a fire at the Moapa National Wildlife Refuge triggered a population decline, and by 1996 the species had been classified as critically endangered. Additional threats to this species include loss of habitat due to resort development, the introduction of non-native fish species, and capping or depletion of spring-fed headwaters.
The Moapa National Wildlife Refuge was established solely to protect this species, and was the first National Wildlife Refuge created for the purpose of protecting an endangered fish species. Since then, researchers have created artificial streams mimicking the optimal conditions described above in hopes of spurring an increase in population.
Moapa dace is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Moapa dace, Wikidata item Q3234000. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
