Alvord cutthroat trout
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Alvord cutthroat trout |
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Oncorhynchus clarki alvordensis |
The Alvord cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki alvordensis, is a subspecies of cutthroat trout. It was native to spring-fed creeks that ran down to Alvord Dry Lake in southeast Oregon and is one of the two cutthroat trout taxa considered extinct. The species disappeared within a few decades of the intentional release of non-native rainbow trout into the Alvord cutthroat's only remaining habitat in the 1920s. The subspecies name was given in 2002 by Robert Behnke (Trout and Salmon of North America). In 2006, Behnke found a small population of cutthroat trout in Guano Creek, some 40 miles south of the historic home of alvordensis that bore a very close resemblance to museum specimens of the Alvord trout. Behnke speculates (personal communication) that they might be selectively bred to reproduce a modern version of the historic fish.