Plagopterus argentissimus
Woundfin
Federal:
Endangered; Experimental Population, Non-Essential
NS
G1
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Cypriniformes (Carps and Minnows)
Cyprinidae (Carps and Minnows)
Plagopterus
Plagopterus argentissimus (Woundfin)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Anal fin with 9-10 rays; ventral-fin origin before dorsal-fin origin; large, forked caudal fin; pharyngeal teeth 1,5-4,1; scales absent; wide, flat head; body compressed at rear; subterminal mouth on long, rounded snout; barbel at corner of mouth; fairly small eye high on head; dusky gray above; brilliant silver side, often with blue sheen, sometimes faint yellow at paired fin bases; breeding males with pink lower side (Ref. 86798).
Distribution
North America: Virgin and Gila River systems (both lower Colorado River drainage) in Utah, Nevada and Arizona, USA. Extant only in Gila River system.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. demersal. Found in: streams.
Biology
Occurs in fast sandy runs and pools of small to medium rivers, usually in warm turbid water (Ref. 86798). Most commonly found in shallow, moderately flowing water over shifting sand substrates (Ref. 26186). Spawning in the Virgin river begins in April to May and continues through August (Ref. 26186).
Max length: 10.0 cm SL; max age: 4 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders.
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered (CR), assessed 2012-04-11. Resilience: Medium (tmax=4).
References
Riehl, R. and H.A. Baensch (1991) Aquarien Atlas. Band. 1. Melle: Mergus, Verlag für Natur-und Heimtierkunde, Germany. 992 p.
Williams, J.E. (1995) Threatened fishes of the world: Plagopterus argentissimus Cope, 1874 (Cyprinidae). Environ. Biol. Fishes 43(4):400.
Greger, P.D. and J.E. Deacon (1987) Diel food utilization by woundfin, Plagopterus argentissimus, in Virgin River, Arizona. Environ. Biol. Fishes 19(1):73-77.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (2011) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p.
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