Golden Trout of Mount Whitney 



tant of small mountain streams on the western slopes of Mount 

 Whitney, tributary to Kern River. It is locally abundant in Vol- 

 cano Creek and the South Fork of Kern River. It has also been 

 introduced into streams about Owen Lake, on the east slopes of 

 the Sierras, which were formerly without trout. The golden 

 trout has been derived apparently from the Kern River trout. 

 It is a small trout, reaching a length of only a few inches, and 

 is remarkable for its unexcelled gameness and its unsurpassed 

 beauty. 



Head 3f; depth 4^; eye 4f; snout 4^; maxillary if; D. 12; 

 A. 10 ; scales 160 to 180, 123 pores; pectoral if; ventral 2; cau- 

 dal if; gillrakers not very short, 10+11. Head rather long, 

 bluntish at tip; mouth moderate, the maxillary extending a little 

 beyond the eye; hyoid teeth not evident; opercle moderate; post- 

 orbital bone very small; scales very small, round, not imbricated; 

 fins moderate; anal high; caudal moderately emarginate. Colour, 

 olive above; sides and belly light golden, always showing the 

 parr marks of immature trout; middle of side along lateral line 

 with a deep scarlet lateral stripe, broadest under the dorsal, 

 where it is about as wide as the eye, thence narrowing to 

 cither end and not reaching either the" head or the caudal fin; 

 middle line of belly with a broad scarlet band, extending from 

 chin to anal fin and equally bright all the way; a fainter shade 

 along lower part of side from anal fin to tip of caudal; no 

 crimson dash on throat, the whole region uniform bright orange; 

 opercles largely orange; dark spots chiefly posterior, large and 

 well marked, some on tail and posterior part of body as large 

 as the pupil, smaller but well marked on the dorsal fin; a few 

 small spots scattered along anterior part of body in some ex- 

 amples, none in front of adipose fin in others; upper anterior 

 angle of dorsal abruptly yellowish-white, this colour edged by a 

 dark oblique streak made by coalescent spots, the rest of the fin 

 light olive with 4 or 5 rows of small black spots; pectorals 

 largely orange; ventrals deep orange, with faint blackish tips, the 

 anterior edge of the fin conspicuously and abruptly whitish, as 

 in the eastern brook trout; anal dusky orange, the tips of the 

 last rays blackish, the outer anterior corner abruptly white, the 

 white stripe wider than the pupil and separated from the body 

 colour of the fin by a dusky shade; caudal olive, tinged with 

 orange on its lower edge, and profusely spotted with black; in- 

 side of mouth pink, the gill-cavity light orange. 



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