Description
Yellowstone cutthroat can be distinguished from other cutthroat subspecies by their larger black spots, clustered towards the tail, and by their gray, gold, or copper hues. Spawning males, especially, typically wear golden brown colors. All cutthroats can be differentiated from rainbow trout by red, pink, or orange marking beneath the jaw that give the species its name.
Depending on habitat, Yellowstone cutthroat can range from six to twenty-six inches as adults, with six to ten inches common in high-elevation, high-gradient tributary streams and the largest fish found only in lakes or in spawning tributaries that feed lakes or emerge from them, such as the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park. As a general rule, cutthroat in streams and small ponds run from ten to eighteen inches as adults, with a weight of one half to two pounds. Before habitat destruction, the threats presented by introduced species, and overfishing, they could run much larger, with fish over thirty inches reported, especially in the strain present in Heart Lake in the southeastern portion of Yellowstone National Park.
Read more about this topic: Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
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