Kern County, California Fish Checklist

KERN FISH The current county tally is 48 species of fish, of which 30 are introduced, 1 extinct, and 3 extirpated. Most freshwater fish in California today are non-native. These introduced species directly compete with or prey upon most native fish. Fish are the most impacted vertebrate per capita of any in California. The Kern River Valley has the distinction of supporting many of the county's native fish. While the San Joaquin Valley, former home to the largest freshwater marsh and lake system west of the Mississippi, is woefully lacking in most natives. The Sacramento sucker below was photographed in the Kern River near Bakersfield and is one of the few natives still occupying its native range. Many of the photographs were taken at the Kern River Fish Hatchery in Kernville. Their museum volunteers have created some impressive displays of Kern County fauna & flora, it is worth a visit and to become a member of the Friends of the Fish Hatchery (and not just for fish). Text, photographs, and illustrations copyright Alison M. Sheehey, Nature Ali. All rights reserved. No permission is granted for any use beyond private personal uses. Any other use is prohibited without written permission and/or possible compensation. See Kern Fish Checklist for a simple list with no illustrations.
LEGEND: FE- federally endangered species (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) FT - federally threatened species (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) FSC - federal species of concern (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) CE - California endangered species (California Dept. of Fish & Game) CSC - California species of concern (California Dept. of Fish & Game) (I) - introduced not native to Kern County
ORDER PETROMYZONTIFORMES - Family PETROMYZONTIDAE - lampreys
Kern brook lamprey	Lampetra hubbsi (Vladykov and Kott, 1976)		FSC CSC	Friant-Kern Canal
ORDER CLUPEIFORMES - Family CLUPEIDAE - herrings and shads
threadfin shad	Dorosoma petenense (Günther, 1867)		(I)	Kern River and west from Lake Isabella
ORDER CYPRINIFORMES - Family CYPRINIDAE - Minnows and carp
goldfish	Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonym: • Cyprinus auratus Linnaeus, 1758		(I)	ponds and slow moving water
common carp	Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758		(I)	Kern River, Lake Isabella, and many canals
Mohave Tui Chub	Gila bicolor mohavensis (Girard 1856)		CE June '71 FE Oct. '70	China Lake Naval Weapons Center
thicktail chub	Gila crassicauda (Baird and Girard, 1854)		extinct	central valley
California roach	Hesperoleucus symmetricus (Baird and Girard, 1854) Synonyms: • Lavinia symmetricus • Rutilus symmetricus (Baird and Girard)		CSC	Poso Creek and foothill creeks north
speckled dace	Rhinichthys osculus (Girard, 1856)
Sacramento splittail	Pogonichthys macrolepidotus (Ayres, 1854)		CSC FT	presumed extirpated from county
hitch	Lavinia exilicauda Baird and Girard, 1854			Kern River, Lake Isabella, Poso Creek, and foothill drainages north
hardhead	Mylopharodon conocephalus (Baird and Girard, 1854)		CSC	north and south fork Kern River, Lake Isabella, and lower Kern
golden shiner	Notemigonus crysoleucas (Mitchill, 1814)		(I)	Lake Isabella, Kern River
red shiner	Cyprinella lutrensis (Baird and Girard, 1853) Synonyms: • Leuciscus lutrensis Baird and Girard, 1853 • Notropis lutrensis		(I)
Sacramento blackfish	Orthodon microlepidotus (Ayres, 1854)			central valley streams & lakes
fathead minnow	Pimephales promelas Rafinesque, 1820		(I)
Sacramento pike minnow (squawfish)	Ptychocheilus grandis (Ayres, 1854)			Lake Isabella, Kern River, and Sierran drainages into SJV
Family CATOSTOMIDAE - suckers
Sacramento sucker	Catostomus occidentalis Ayres, 1854			south and north forks Kern River plus lower Kern all Sierran SJV drainages
ORDER SILURIFORMES - Family ICTALURIDAE - bullhead catfishes
white catfish	Ameiurus catus (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonym: • Ictalurus catus		(I)	warm water lakes & slow moving portions of rivers west of Sierran crest
black bullhead	Ameiurus melas (Rafinesque, 1820) Synonym: • Ictalurus melas		(I)	low & mid elevation rivers and reservoirs, countywide
brown bullhead	Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819) Synonym: • Ictalurus nebulosus		(I)	low-mid elevation warm water lakes & rivers
blue catfish	Ictalurus furcatus (Lesueur , 1840)		(I)	reservoirs & fish farms south of SJV
channel catfish	Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818) Synonym: • Silurus punctatus Rafinesque, 1818		(I)	warm low-mid elevation rivers and reservoirs
ORDER SALMONIFORMES -Family SALMONIDAE - trout
rainbow trout	Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) Synonym: • Salmo mykiss Walbaum, 1792		(I)	Non-native rainbow trout have been introduced to all trout streams, causing local extinction of native species through interbreeding
Kern golden trout (aka) Kern River rainbow trout	Oncorhynchus mykiss gilberti (Jordan, 1894) Synonym: Salmo mykiss gilberti		FSC CSC	north fork Kern River, south fork Kern River to Onyx, southern creeks on Kern Plateau
California golden trout (Volcano Creek golden trout)	Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita (Jordan, 1892) Synonyms: • Oncorhynchus aguabonita (Jordan, 1892) • Salmo aguabonita Jordan, 1892			native to the South Fork Kern River
Little Kern golden trout	Oncorhynchus mykiss whitei (Evermann, 1906) Synonym: • Salmo aguabonita whitei		(I?) FT 15 May 1978	introduced to the upper Kern River, native to the Little Kern River in Tulare County
brown trout	Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758		(I)	low to high elevation mountain streams, rivers, and lakes, Kern River drainage and north
brook trout	Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill, 1814)		(I) from eastern U.S.	mountain streams, rivers, and lakes, Breckenridge Mtn & north
ORDER CYPRINODONTIFORMES - FAMILY POECILIIDAE - livebearers
western mosquitofish	Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853) Synonym: • Gambusia patruelis (Baird and Girard, 1854)		(I)	found in all waters of Kern, planted by mosquito abatement districts
Family ATHERINIDAE - silversides
inland silverside	Menidia beryllina (Cope, 1867)		(I)	central valley and foothill watercourses
ORDER GASTEROSTEIFORMES -Family GASTEROSTEIDAE - sticklebacks
threespine stickleback (aka) Alaskan stickleback	Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms: • Gasterosteus angyropomus • Gasterosteus biaculeatus • Gasterosteus bispinosus • Gasterosteus brachycentrus • Gasterosteus cataphractus (Pallas) • Gasterosteus cuvieri • Gasterosteus gymnurus • Gasterosteus leiurus • Gasterosteus niger • Gasterosteus noveboracensis • Gasterosteus obolarius • Gasterosteus ponticus • Gasterosteus semiarmatus • Gasterosteus semiloricatus • Gasterosteus spinulosus • Gasterosteus teraculeatus • Gasterosteus tetracanthus • Gasterosteus trachurus • Leiurus aculeatus			mid elevation rivers and reservoirs Lake Isabella, Kern River, and foothill streams
ORDER SCORPAENIFORMES -Family COTTIDAE - sculpins
prickly sculpin	Cottus asper Richardson, 1836			low elevation rivers, streams, and reservoirs
riffle sculpin	Cottus gulosus (Girard, 1854)			low elevation streams and rivers
ORDER PERCIFORMES -Family PERCICHTHYIDAE - temperate basses
white bass	Morone chrysops (Rafinesque, 1820)		(I)	fish and game works very hard eliminating this pest
striped bass	Morone saxatilis (Walbaum, 1792) Synonym: • Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum, 1792)		(I)	highly prized game fish found in most flowing waters esp. aqueduct
Family CENTRARCHIDAE – sunfishes
Sacramento perch	Archoplites interruptus (Girard, 1854)		(within native range) FSC CSC	presumed extirpated from county
green sunfish	Lepomis cyanellus Rafinesque, 1819 Synonyms: • Apomotis cyanellus (Rainesque, 1819) • Chaenobryttus cyanellus (Rainesque, 1819) • Icthelus cyanella (Rainesque, 1819) • Lepidomus cyannelus (Rainesque, 1819) • Telipomis cyannelus (Rainesque, 1819)		(I)	distributed countywide
pumpkinseed	Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms: • Eupomotis aureus • Perca gibbosa Linnaeus, 1758 • Pomotis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) • Pomotis ravenelli • Pomotis vulgaris • Sparus aureus		(I)
warmouth	Chaenobryttus gulosus (Cuvier, 1829) Synonym: • Lepomis gulosus		(I)	lowlands of central valley
bluegill	Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819 Synonyms: • Eupomotis macrochirus (Rafinesque, 1819) • Lepomotis nephelus		(I)	found in most waters of the county.
redear sunfish	Lepomis microlophus (Guenther, 1859)		(I)	Kern River and all waters west of Sierran crest
smallmouth bass	Micropterus dolomieu Lacépède, 1802 Synonym: • Micropterus dolomieui Lacépède, 1802		(I)	central valley and Kern River
spotted bass	Micropterus punctulatus (Rafinesque, 1819)		(I)	Central Valley, Kern River, and Lake Isabella
largemouth bass	Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede, 1802)		(I)	planted in waters countywide
white crappie	Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque, 1818		(I)	low to mid elevation streams and ponds central valley foothills, Lake Isabella, and lowlands
black crappie	Pomoxis nigromaculatus (Lesueur, 1829)		(I)	warm water streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes west of desert
FAMILY PERCIDAE - perches
bigscale logperch	Percina macrolepida Stevenson, 1971		(I)	low elevation rivers and reservoirs, SJV
FAMILY EMBIOTOCIDAE - surfperches
tule perch	Hysterocarpus traskii Gibbons, 1854			extirpated from Tulare Basin
References 2000. Friends of the Kern River Fish Hatchery. 27 Local Fish Species. Worldwide web electronic publication. http://www.kernvalley.com/fishhatchery/centers.htm 11 Dec. 2002. 2002. Integrated Taxonomic Information System - ITIS * North America. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.itis.usda.gov. 11 Dec. 2002. Data 13 Nov. 2002. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2002. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, 11 December 2002. McGinnis, S. M., 1984. Freshwater Fishes of California. UC Press, Berkeley. IF YOU FIND VALUE IN THE INFORMATION YOU FIND HERE PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THIS SITE!
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Photos and drawings by Alison Sheehey © NatureAli. All rights reserved. Nature Alley is dedicated to protecting natural communities wherever they exist. She is involved in many scientific and educational programs, promoting environmental appreciation and ethics.

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