NEWER NAMES OF YELLOWSTONE PARK FISHES
by Ranger Naturalist James R. Simon
Many scientific names of Yellowstone Park fishes have been changed in
the past sixteen years. At present there is need for a list which will
place the park fish fauna in accord with the latest classifications.
Changes in the names of Yellowstone fishes have resulted entirely from
fomalities of fish classification and not from correction of any
mistakes in identification.
The list following is a comparison of the names given in Smith and
Kendall, "Fishes of the Yellowstone National Park," Bureau of Fisheries
Document, No. 904, 1921, with the names now used to apply to the same
species. In some cases these names have remained unchanged; in others
trinomial names are used in preference to binomial; and in still others,
generic or specific or both generic and specific names are changed.
Smith and Kendall list sixteen species as being present in the park,
and two which were introduced but unsuccessful. These eighteen species
are listed; no additions or subtractions are made to Smith and Kendall's
list.
| Smith and Kendall |
Common Name | Newer Name |
| 1. Micropterus salamoides | Large mouth black bass | Huro floridana |
| 2. Salmo sebago | Landlocked salmon | Unchanged |
| 3. Thymallus montanus | Montana grayling | Unchanged |
| 4. Coregonus williamsoni | Rocky Mountain whitefish | Prosopium williamsoni |
| 5. Salmo lewisi | Blackspotted trout
or Cutthroat trout | Salmo clarki lewisi |
| 6. Salmo shasta | Rainbow trout | Salmo gairdnerii irideus |
| 7. Salmo fario | Brown trout | Salmo trutta trutta |
| 8. Salmo levenensis | Loch Leven trout | Salmo trutta levenensis |
| 9. Cristivomer namaycush | Lake trout | Unchanged. |
| 10. Salvelinus fontinalis | Eastern brook trout | Unchanged |
| 11. Perca flavescens | Yellow perch | Unchanged |
| 12. Cottus punctulatus | Blob | Cottus semiscaber |
| 13. Catostoamus catostoamus | Northern sucker | Unchanged |
| 14. Catostomus ardens | Rosyside sucker | Catostomus fecundus |
| 15. Leuciscus hydrophlox | Silverside minnow | Richardsonius balteatus hydrophlox |
| 16. Leuciscus lineatus | Utah lake chub | Gila atraria
| 17. Rhinichthys dulcis | Longnose dace | Rhinichthys cataractae ocella |
| 18. Agosia nubila | Dusky dace | Apocope oscula carringtoni |
|
Remarks:
Brown and Loch Leven trouts are considered as the same species, only
the variety, or subspecies, being different.
Trinomial nomenclature is sometimes applied to the Lake, trout and to
the Eastern brook trout; in both cases the subspecific name is a
repetition of the specific name.
Cottus punctulatus is a species of the Green River drainage,
wherefore it does not appears in Yellowstone.
Perhaps this listing will serve the purpose of aiding those
interested in locating more complete references to Yellowstone Park
fishes.
