Saratoga springs pupfish
The Saratoga Springs pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis nevadensis) is a subspecies of the Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis) of the family Cyprinodontidae. The native population is endemic to Saratoga Springs, a small wetland in Death Valley National Park in the United States.
Male Saratoga Springs pupfish are bright blue in color, while females are a drab olive-brown. The fish have a standard length of 4 cm (1.5 in), and the total length is rarely greater than 5 cm (2 in).
The diet of C. n. nevadensis is typical of pupfishes. Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are the primary food source, for which their lengthy guts are particularly well adapted. Ostracods, copepods, and the larvae of chironomids provide seasonal nutrition.
Mating behavior differs from stream-dwelling pupfishes but is similar to other spring-dwellers. Males defend territories in which females lay eggs throughout the year. While the fish are capable of surviving a wide range of temperatures, reproduction is limited to a narrower range (75–86 °F; 24–30 °C).
The fish is only known to occur naturally at Saratoga Springs. A 30-foot (9.1 m) diameter, 3–6 feet (0.91–1.83 metres) deep spring pool overflows into several ponds totaling about 4–6 acres (1.6–2.4 ha). The temperature at the spring is a near constant 82–84 degrees Fahrenheit (28–29 °C), while the ponds fluctuate seasonally between 50 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit (10 and 49 °C). Fish at all life stages are found in the ponds, but juvenile fish are not known to occur in the spring itself.
A population was introduced at Lake Tuendae, an artificial pond in Zzyzx, California, but reports conflict as to its continued survival there.
The Saratoga Springs pupfish carries no official conservation status. The state of California has identified it as possibly qualifying as threatened based on its limited distribution and the possibility that distant groundwater pumping may deplete the aquifer that supplies Saratoga Springs. The aquifer may extend to as far away as western Utah. Groundwater depletion in the Las Vegas Valley, 75 miles (121 km) to the northeast, is of particular concern.
In order to protect the pupfish and several other sensitive species, the National Park Service prohibits visitors from entering the wetland at Saratoga Springs.
