﻿THE 
  FISHES 
  OF 
  THE 
  YELLOWSTONE 
  NATIONAL 
  PARK, 
  

  

  By 
  W. 
  C. 
  Kendall, 
  

   Assistant, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Fisheries. 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION. 
  

  

  The 
  natural 
  fish 
  fauna 
  of 
  the 
  Yellowstone 
  National 
  Park 
  consists 
  of 
  

   but 
  a 
  few 
  species, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  facts 
  that 
  distribution 
  must 
  have 
  

   occurred 
  in 
  recent 
  geological 
  times 
  and 
  that 
  all 
  of 
  the 
  streams 
  leaving 
  

   the 
  lava 
  beds 
  do 
  so 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  vertical 
  waterfalls 
  situated 
  in 
  deep 
  

   canyons. 
  Except 
  in 
  Yellowstone 
  River 
  and 
  its 
  tributaries, 
  in 
  Gibbon 
  

   River, 
  and 
  in 
  Lava 
  Creek, 
  no 
  fishes 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  above 
  these 
  falls 
  

   except 
  where 
  their 
  presence 
  may 
  be 
  accounted 
  for 
  by 
  imperfect 
  water- 
  

   sheds 
  separating 
  these 
  streams 
  from 
  others. 
  

  

  The 
  known 
  species 
  of 
  natural 
  occurrence 
  in 
  the 
  park 
  are 
  longnose 
  

   sucker, 
  rosyside 
  sucker, 
  chub, 
  silverside 
  mimiow, 
  longnose 
  dace, 
  

   whitefish, 
  cutthroat 
  trout, 
  grayling, 
  and 
  blob. 
  Of 
  these 
  only 
  the 
  

   trout 
  and 
  grayling 
  were 
  recognized 
  as 
  game 
  fishes, 
  although 
  the 
  white- 
  

   fish 
  might 
  justly 
  be 
  so 
  considered. 
  While 
  these 
  fishes 
  were 
  wonder- 
  

   fully 
  abundant 
  in 
  the 
  waters 
  inhabited 
  by 
  them, 
  the 
  annually 
  increas- 
  

   ing 
  number 
  of 
  tourists, 
  many 
  of 
  whom 
  were 
  anglers, 
  made 
  it 
  desirable 
  

   to 
  stock 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  previously 
  barren 
  waters 
  with 
  game 
  fishes. 
  

  

  An 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  park 
  waters 
  by 
  Forbes 
  in 
  1890 
  '^ 
  showed 
  that 
  

   many 
  of 
  these 
  waters 
  were 
  well 
  supplied 
  with 
  crustacean 
  and 
  insect 
  

   food 
  and 
  were 
  otherwise 
  suited 
  to 
  certain 
  species. 
  Referring 
  to 
  the 
  

   supposed 
  obstacle 
  to 
  the 
  spread 
  of 
  fish 
  life 
  in 
  the 
  park, 
  Dr. 
  Jordan 
  

   said 
  that 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  geysers 
  and 
  other 
  calcareous 
  and 
  silicious 
  

   springs 
  appeared 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  objectionable 
  to 
  fishes. 
  In 
  Yellowstone 
  

   Lake 
  trout 
  were 
  found 
  especially 
  abundant 
  about 
  the 
  overflow 
  from 
  

   the 
  Lake 
  Geyser 
  Basin, 
  where 
  the 
  hot 
  water 
  flowed 
  for 
  a 
  time 
  at 
  the 
  

   surface, 
  and 
  trout 
  could 
  be 
  taken 
  inunediately 
  under 
  these 
  currents. 
  

   It 
  was 
  noted 
  also 
  that 
  trout 
  had 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  rise 
  to 
  a 
  fly 
  through 
  

   the 
  scalding 
  hot 
  surface 
  current 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  lingered 
  in 
  the 
  neigh- 
  

   borhood 
  of 
  hot 
  springs 
  in 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  lake. 
  Dr. 
  Jordan 
  sug- 
  

   gested 
  that 
  this 
  was 
  probably 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  food 
  in 
  those 
  

  

  a 
  A 
  preliminary 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  aquatic 
  invertebrate 
  fauna 
  of 
  the 
  Yellowstone 
  National 
  Park, 
  Wyo., 
  and 
  

   the 
  Flathead 
  region 
  of 
  Montana. 
  By 
  S. 
  A. 
  Forbes. 
  Bulletin 
  U. 
  S. 
  Fish 
  Commission, 
  vol. 
  xi, 
  for 
  

   1891, 
  p. 
  207-258, 
  and 
  pi. 
  xxxvn-XLn. 
  1893. 
  

  

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