Conserving and restoring at risk species and ecosystems on the BC South Coast
Nooksack Dace
Rhinichthys cataractae - Chehalis lineage
This member of the family Cyprinidae (“carps, true minnows”) is considered a subspecies of the widespread and common Longnose Dace. An artefact of geographic isolation, the Chehalis lineage form evolved in Washington State’s Chehalis River Valley sometime during the Pleistocene glaciations later spreading into other watersheds that opened up as ice retreated.
COSEWIC: Endangered, BC List: Red
Nooksack Dace are a small (<10.5 cm) streamlined fish, with a sub-terminal mouth (the snout overhangs the mouth), sometimes with a black stripe in front of the eyes. Scales are small with pale markings visible at the back and front of the dorsal fin when viewed from above. The tail is forked. The rounded back is olive-grey; the belly is silvery-white with a dull brassy stripe along the sides. Lower sides often splashed with dusky speckles. Sexes are alike, but males tend to have longer and darker pectoral fins. Juveniles have a very conspicuous black line on their sides, from snout to base of tail.
RESOURCES
For further information see:
A sources for authoritative conservation information on thousands of plants and animals and hundreds of ecological communities in BC.
A joint venture resource providing comprehensive information on a range of species and ecological communities specific to the Coast Region of BC (including the South, Central and North Coast, Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii).
Environmental guidelines for urban and rural land development in BC.
Learn what species are at risk in your area, search by name, habitat type, regional district and forest district.
A volunteer-driven GIS-based biogeoclimatic atlas of the wildlife of BC.
Source for status, taxonomy, distribution and life history information for plants, animals and ecological communities in the US and Canada.
The source for news, information and documents related to species at risk, their status and conservation in Canada.
Up-to-date information on recovery planning and implementation for species in BC.
SHARE
