THE FISHES OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 



By AY. ('. 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 minnow, 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 a 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 immediately 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-xm. 1893. 



