The Colorado pikeminnow was the Colorado River’s top predator in the early 1900s and has been known to take anglers’ bait in the form of mice, birds and even small rabbits, despite that its only “teeth” are found on a bony, circular structure located deep within its throat.
An Imperiled Native Fish
The Colorado pikeminnow was once so prevalent in the Colorado River Basin that farmers would take them out of irrigation ditches with pitchforks to use as fertilizer for their fields. Now the species exists in a handful of sites throughout the Colorado River system. Threats to the Colorado pikeminnow include flow regulation, habitat loss and alteration, competition with and/or predation by exotic fishes, and water pollution in the Colorado River Basin. Selenium, a heavy metal often found in runoff from disturbed sites, including uranium mines, can affect reproduction in fish (including the endangered Colorado River fish) and may bioaccumulate, impacting species higher in the food chain like river otters and bald eagles.
Natural History
Colorado pikeminnow are thought to have evolved more than 3 million years ago. The Colorado pikeminnow is the largest minnow in North America and one of the largest in the world. Colorado pikeminnows used to get as large as 90 pounds and were shipped to San Francisco to be served as a delicacy in fancy restaurants. Similar to salmon, Colorado pikeminnow can migrate more than 200 miles to spawn. They spawn between late June and early September and when they are 5-6 years old and at least 16 inches long. In the last 30 years, the largest Colorado pikeminnow found in the upper Colorado River basin was nearly 38 inches long and weighed about 25 pounds.
Conservation Status
-Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, 1967
-Colorado Division of Wildlife Threatened Species
-New Mexico Species of Greatest Conservation Need
-Utah Species of Special Concern
Action Taken
We monitor and challenge inappropriate development projects in the upper Colorado River watershed, including uranium mining, oil and gas drilling, and water diversion projects, to protect this rare species and water quality in the Colorado River basin.
