The cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) is a large sucker fish endemic to Pyramid Lake and, prior to its desiccation in the 20th century, Winnemucca Lake in northwestern Nevada. It feeds primarily on zooplankton and possibly on nanoplankton (such as algae and diatoms). The maximum size of male cui-ui is approximately 53 cm (21 in) and 1.6 kg (3.5 lb), while females reach approximately 64 cm (25 in) and 2.7 kg (6.0 lb). A cui-ui typically lives for 40 years but do not reach sexual maturity until at least age eight. The cui-ui is an endangered species, and one of the few surviving members of its genus.
The cui-ui population is generally improving in numbers, having attained an estimated population exceeding one million in 1993, thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in analysis of the Truckee River spawning grounds and of the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection and EPA in following up on protection measures. The reason the cui-ui remains endangered (though upgraded from critically endangered in 2014) is the recent history of recruitment variation, illustrating that in many years of the 1970s and 1980s there was virtually no recruitment whatsoever due to unsuccessful spawning in an unfavorable water quality and water flow environment of the Truckee River. The species' outlook is uncertain since a recovery plan based on an enhanced understanding of Pyramid Lake and Truckee River water quality has been published and U.S. Congress adopted a protection plan.
The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe are the Cui-ui Ticutta, also spelled Kuyuidikado, which translated to "cui-ui eaters." Together with the Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) the cui-ui was an important food supply for the Cui-ui Tikutta and neighboring Paiute bands who traveled to Pyramid Lake to share in the harvest during the spring spawning runs.
Subsequent to European American settlement of western Nevada in the 1860s many Cui-ui Ticutta made a living by selling fish, although the European Americans generally preferred trout to cui-ui. Cui-ui were also still important for subsistence, despite Bureau of Indian Affairs attempts to encourage farming and discourage fishing.
After the 1905 construction of Derby Dam which diverted much of the Truckee River's flow, the Pyramid Lake fishery declined. By 1930, it was no longer supplied even subsistence food. Although conditions have improved recently, the cui-ui are managed for cultural and ecological purposes, not as a human food source.
Ov
OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Mi
MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
C
starts with
