View source for Cutthroat trout

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Trout cutthroat fish oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii.jpg
| image_caption = [[Coastal cutthroat trout]], ''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii'', the [[Type (biology)|type subspecies]]
| image_alt = Drawing of two trout swimming
| status = G5
| status_system = TNC
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hammerson |first1=G. |date=March 12, 2003 |title=Oncorhynchus clarkii '''Cutthroat Trout''' |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103888/Oncorhynchus_clarkii#Authors_and_Contributors |journal=[[NatureServe]] |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref>
| genus = Oncorhynchus
| species = clarkii
| authority = ([[John Richardson (naturalist)|Richardson]], 1836)<ref name=richardson>{{Cite book|last1=Richardson|first1=John|author-link=John Richardson (naturalist)|last2=Swainson |first2=William |last3=Kirby |first3= William |title=Fauna boreali-americana, or, The Zoology of The Northern Parts of British America: Containing Descriptions of The Objects of Natural History Collected on The Late Northern Land Expedition, Under Command of Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cp4SAAAAYAAJ|year=1836|publisher=J. Murray|location=London|pages=225–226}}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision =
{{collapsible list|title=<small>Subspecies</small>|hlist=true|
{{nowrap|''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. alvordensis''†}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. behnkei''}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. bouvierii''}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. henshawi''}} <small>([[Threatened species|threatened]])</small><br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. humboldtensis''}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. lewisi''}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. macdonaldi''†}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. pleuriticus''}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. seleniris''}} <small>(threatened)</small><br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. stomias''}} <small>(threatened)</small><br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. utah''}}<br/>
{{nowrap|''O. c. virginalis''}}
}}
| range_map = Oncorhynchus_clarki_range_map.JPG
| range_map_caption = Range map of Cutthroat trout (''Onchorynchus clarkii'')
| synonyms =
{{collapsible list|title=<small>Other scientific names</small>|hlist=true|
{{nowrap|''Salmo clarkii'' <small>(Richardson, 1836)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Fario clarkii'' <small>(Richardson, 1836)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Parasalmo clarkii'' <small>(Richardson, 1836)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo clarkii clarkii'' <small>(Richardson, 1836)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo clarki'' <small>(Richardson, 1836)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo clarki clarki'' <small>(Richardson, 1836)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Fario stellatus'' <small>([[Charles Frédéric Girard|Girard]], 1856)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo stellatus'' <small>(Girard, 1856)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salar lewisi'' <small>(Girard, 1856)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo lewisi'' <small>(Girard, 1856)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo clarki lewisi'' <small>(Girard, 1856)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo clarkii lewisi'' <small>(Girard, 1856)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo brevicauda'' <small>([[George Suckley|Suckley]], 1861)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo pleuriticus'' <small>([[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1872)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo purpuratus bouvieri'' <small>([[David Starr Jordan|Jordan]] & [[Charles Henry Gilbert|Gilbert]], 1883)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo clarkii alpestris'' <small>(Dymond, 1931)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo mykiss'' <small>(non [[Johann Julius Walbaum|Walbaum]], 1792)</small>}}
{{nowrap|''Salmo purpuratus'' <small>(non [[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1814)</small>}}
}}
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fishbase.org/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.php?ID=2688&SynCode=156254&GenusName=Oncorhynchus&SpeciesName=clarkii |title=Synonyms of Oncorhynchus clarkii (Richardson, 1836)|publisher=Fishbase|access-date=2014-02-23}}</ref>
}}

The '''cutthroat trout''' ('''''Oncorhynchus clarkii'' clade''') is a [[clade]] of four fish species<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="BehnkeOclarki-138" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Page |first1=Lawrence M. |title=Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico |last2=Bemis |first2=Katherine E. |last3=Espinosa-Pérez |first3=Héctor S. |last4=Findley |first4=Lloyd T. |last5=Gilbert |first5=Carter R. |last6=Hartel |first6=Karsten E. |last7=Lea |first7=Robert N. |last8=Mandrak |first8=Nicholas E. |last9=Neighbors |first9=Margaret A. |date=2023 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |isbn=978-1-934874-69-1 |edition=Eighth |series=Special publication |location=Bethesda}}</ref> of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Salmonidae]] native to cold-water [[Tributary|tributaries]] of the [[Pacific Ocean]], [[Rocky Mountains]], and [[Great Basin]] in North America. These four species are the [[Coastal cutthroat trout|Coastal]] (''O. clarkii''), [[Westslope cutthroat trout|Westslope]] (''O. lewisi''), [[Lahontan cutthroat trout|Lahontan]] (''O. henshawi''), and the [[Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout|Rocky Mountain]] (''O. virginalis''). As a member of the genus ''[[Oncorhynchus]]'', it is in the Pacific [[trout]] group, which includes the widely distributed [[rainbow trout]]. Cutthroat trout are popular [[gamefish]], especially among [[Angling|angler]]s who enjoy [[fly fishing]]. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the [[Mandible|lower jaw]]. The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''clarkii'' was given to honor explorer [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]], coleader of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]].

Cutthroat trout usually inhabit and [[Spawn (biology)|spawn]] in small to moderately large, clear, well-[[Oxygenation (environmental)|oxygenated]], shallow rivers with gravel bottoms. They reproduce in clear, cold, moderately deep lakes. They are native to the [[Alluvium|alluvial]] or [[freestone stream]]s that are typical tributaries of the rivers of the Pacific Basin, Great Basin and Rocky Mountains. Cutthroat trout spawn in the spring and may inadvertently but naturally [[hybrid (biology)|hybridize]] with rainbow trout, producing fertile [[cutbow]]s. Some [[population]]s of the coastal cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. c. clarkii'')}} are [[anadromous|semi-anadromous]].

Several [[subspecies]] of cutthroat trout are currently listed as [[Threatened species|threatened]] in their native ranges due to [[habitat loss]] and the [[introduced species|introduction]] of non-native species. Two subspecies, {{nowrap|''O. henshawi alvordensis''}} and {{nowrap|''O. virginalis macdonaldi''}}, are considered [[extinct]]. Cutthroat trout are raised in [[Fish hatchery|hatcheries]] to restore populations in their native range, as well as stock non-native lake environments to support angling. The cutthroat trout type species and several subspecies are the [[List of U.S. state fish|official state fish]] of seven western U.S. states.

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Cutthroat Trout Lineage.tif|alt=Drawing of Phylogenetic evolution map for cutthroat trout|thumb|[[Phylogenetics|Phylogenetic map]] of {{nowrap|''Oncorhynchus sp.''}}<ref name=BehnkeOclarki-138>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke |author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America |publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|pages=138–139|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref>]]
Cutthroat trout were the first [[New World]] trout encountered by Europeans when in 1541, Spanish explorer [[Francisco de Coronado]] recorded seeing trout in the [[Pecos River]] near [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]. These were most likely Rio Grande cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. v. virginalis'')}}.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke |author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America |publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|page=139|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref> The species was first described in the journals of explorer William Clark from specimens obtained during the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] from the [[Missouri River]] near [[Great Falls, Montana]], and these were most likely the [[westslope cutthroat trout]] {{nowrap|(''O. l. lewisi'')}}. As one of Lewis and Clark's many missions was to describe the flora and fauna encountered during their expedition, cutthroat trout were given the name {{nowrap|''Salmo clarkii''}} in honor of William Clark.<ref name=richardson/> In 1836, the [[type specimen]] of {{nowrap|''S. clarkii''}} was described by naturalist [[John Richardson (naturalist)|John Richardson]] from a tributary of the lower [[Columbia River]], identified as the "Katpootl",<ref name=richardson/> which was perhaps the [[Lewis River (Washington)|Lewis River]], as there was a [[Multnomah (tribe)|Multnomah]] village of similar name at the [[confluence]]. This type specimen was most likely the coastal cutthroat trout subspecies {{nowrap|''O. c. clarkii''}}.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke|author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America|publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|page=146|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref> Until the 1960s, populations of westslope cutthroat trout and [[Yellowstone cutthroat trout]] were lumped into one subspecies; ''Salmo clarkii lewisii''. Biologists later split the group into two subspecies, christening the name westslope cutthroat trout with the ''lewisii'' name which honors explorer [[Meriwether Lewis]] and renaming the Yellowstone cutthroat trout ''Salmo bouvierii'',<ref>{{cite book|title=About Trout: The Best of Robert J. Behnke from ''Trout Magazine''|page=12|publisher=Globe Pequot|author-link=Robert J. Behnke|year=2007|isbn=978-1-59921-203-6|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author2=Williams, Ted}}</ref> the first name given to the Yellowstone cutthroat trout by [[David Starr Jordan]] in 1883 honoring a U.S. Army Captain Bouvier.<ref name="Trotter-2018">{{cite book |last1=Trotter |first1=P. |first2=P. |last2=Bisson |first3=B. |last3=Roper |first4=L. |last4=Schultz |first5=C. |last5=Ferraris |first6=G.R. |last6=Smith |first7=R.F. |last7=Stearley |year=2018 |chapter=A special workshop on the taxonomy and evolutionary biology of cutthroat trout |pages= 1–31 |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch1 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/biology/nsaec/assets/2018-0_trotter-et-al_cutthrouttrout_afs-508.pdf}}</ref>

In 1989, [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] and [[Genetics|genetic]] studies indicated trout of the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific Basin]] were genetically closer to Pacific salmon (''Oncorhynchus'' species) than to the ''[[Salmo]]''s–[[brown trout]] {{nowrap|(''S. trutta'')}} or [[Atlantic salmon]] {{nowrap|(''S. salar'')}} of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic Basin]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Gerald R. |last2=Stearley |first2=Ralph F. |year=1989 |title=The Classification and Scientific Names of Rainbow and Cutthroat Trouts |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140998/1/fsh0004.pdf |journal=Fisheries |publisher=American Fisheries Society |volume=14 |pages=4–10 |bibcode=1989Fish...14a...4S |doi=10.1577/1548-8446(1989)014<0004:TCASNO>2.0.CO;2 |hdl-access=free |issue=1 |hdl=2027.42/140998}}</ref> Thus, in 1989, taxonomic authorities moved the rainbow, cutthroat and other Pacific Basin trout into the genus ''Oncorhynchus''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Behnke |first1=Robert J. |author-link=Robert J. Behnke |title=Trout and Salmon of North America |author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator) |publisher=The Free Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-7432-2220-2 |pages=10–21 |chapter=Genus ''Oncorhynchus''}}</ref>

This single species (''O. clarkii)'' classification is now changed.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Trotter-2008">{{cite book |last=Trotter |first=Patrick C. |title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West |publisher=University of California Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-520-25458-9 |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=459–465 |chapter=Extinct Species}}</ref> Genetic, taxonomic, and geologic<ref>{{cite book |last=Trotter |first=Patrick C. |title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West |publisher=University of California Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-520-25458-9 |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=449–465 |chapter=Extinct Subspecies}}</ref> studies have determined that cutthroat trout should be divided into four distinct species, with each having multiple subspecies corresponding to the evolutionary lineages found within major river basins, except for the Coastal cutthroat trout.

=== Subspecies and uniquely identifiable evolutionary units ===
[[Robert J. Behnke|Behnke]] in his salmon and trout handbook of 2002 recognized 14 [[subspecies]] of cutthroat trout that are each native to a separate geographic area.<ref name="behnke">{{cite book |author-link=Robert J. Behnke|last=Behnke |first=Robert J. |title=Native Trout of Western North America |publisher=American Fisheries Society |year=1992 |page=65}}</ref> Not all of them were scientifically described, and different views on the taxonomic identities have been presented.<ref name="BT">{{cite journal |last1=Trotter |first1=Patrick C. |last2=Behnke |first2=Robert J. |year=2008 |title=The Case for Humboldtensis: A Subspecies Name for The Indigenous Cutthroat Trout, ''Oncorhynchus clarki'' of The Humboldt River, Upper Quinn River, and Coyote Basin Drainages, Nevada and Oregon |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2088&context=wnan |journal=Western North American Naturalist |publisher=Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University |volume=68 |pages=58–65 |doi=10.3398/1527-0904(2008)68[58:tcfhas]2.0.co;2 |jstor=41717657 |s2cid=84316986 |issue=1|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="wht">{{cite report|url=http://www.fws.gov/lahontannfhc/fish/lahontan_cutthroat_trout/documents/peacock_kirchoff_lct_pop_phylogeny_final_6-16-07.pdf|title=Analysis of Genetic Variation and Population Genetic Structure in Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (''Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi'') Extant Populations |type=Final Report|last1=Peacock |first1=Mary M.|last2=Kirchoff|first2= Veronica|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=2016-02-29|date=June 2007|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111446/http://www.fws.gov/lahontannfhc/fish/lahontan_cutthroat_trout/documents/peacock_kirchoff_lct_pop_phylogeny_final_6-16-07.pdf}}</ref>

During the annual meeting of the [[American Fisheries Society]] (AFS) in 2015, the Western Division of AFS (WDAFS) hosted an expert-panel workshop to evaluate the validity of the currently recognized subspecies, using evidence both for and against. The panel found the Behnke classification scientifically indefensible, and proposed an updated [[phylogeny]] and classification that aligns with the corpus of evidence.<ref name="Trotter-2018" />

One specific detail the panelists were unable to resolve was how to discuss specific subsets of the population. One side favored subspecies as a valuable [[taxonomic rank]], because they represent important information about their evolutionary and ecological history that should be recognized to preserve biodiversity. The other side disagreed, arguing that subspecies do not necessarily align with actual evolutionary units, and are simply designations of lineages within a species based on geography.<ref name="Trotter-2018" />

To facilitate further discussion without needing to resolve that detail, the panel used the term "uniquely identifiable evolutionary unit" (UIEU) to describe various evolutionary subunits within a  species. In short, UIEUs are recognizable population groups that show independence in an evolutionary sense, but do not meet all the criteria to be considered full species.<ref name="Trotter-2018" />

The evolutionary history of the cutthroat trout is complex and not fully agreed upon by all scientists. What is known is that cutthroat trout were present in the then-forming [[Lahontan Basin|Lahontan basin]] 10 million years ago.<ref name="Crawford-2001" /> This, coupled with new information about drainage patterns in western rivers, suggests that the interior radiation and colonization pathways of the cutthroat trout may be substantially different than what was previously thought.

Previously, the first evolutionary theory, based on the work of David Starr Jordan<ref name="Truchas-2014" /> and later Robert J. Behnke,<ref name="Bull-2012" /><ref name="Jakober-1998" /><ref name="Johnson-2004" /> proposed that an ancestral cutthroat trout from Asia entered North America and dispersed inland through the Columbia River basin. The formation of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River then isolated groups of trout, leading to the variety of subspecies seen today. Behnke later modified this theory,<ref name="BehnkeOclarki-138" /> suggesting that the Colorado River system was invaded from the Yellowstone and not the upper Arkansas River.

More recently, an alternative theory<ref>{{cite book |last=Trotter |first=Patrick C. |title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West |publisher=University of California Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-520-25458-9 |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=359–388 |chapter=Colorado River Cutthroat Trout}}</ref><ref name="Jackson-2014" /> demonstrates that cutthroat trout originated in the [[Bonneville Basin]] and then radiated outwards approximately 4 million years ago. This theory was based on their interpretation of the fossil record and DNA analysis. New evidence, particularly DNA analysis, is providing new insights into the origins and relationships of the different lineages. However, there is still much to be learned about this complex history. What is known is that repeated [[Glacial period|glacial]] and [[interglacial]] periods that would have caused repeated fracturing and isolation of cutthroat trout populations, eventually resulting in the different cutthroats found today.<ref name="BehnkeOclarki">{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke|author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America|publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|pages=137–234|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref><ref name="BehnkeOclarki-138" /><ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Trotter-2008" />
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Species
!Common name
!Scientific name*
!Range
!Image
|-
|'''[[Coastal cutthroat trout|Coastal]]'''
|[[Coastal cutthroat trout]]. Also known as "sea-run" cutthroat trout.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Behnke |first1=Robert J. |author-link=Robert J. Behnke |title=Trout and Salmon of North America |author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator) |publisher=The Free Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-7432-2220-2 |pages=149–154 |chapter=Coastal Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki clarki''}}</ref>
|''O. clarkii'' <small>(Richardson, 1836)</small>
|Native in coastal tributaries from northern [[California]] to [[Alaska]].<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=T.H. |first2=K.E. |last2=Griswold |first3=E.R. |last3=Keeley |first4=K.P. |last4=Currens |first5=G.H. |last5=Reeves |year=2018 |chapter=Diversity of coastal cutthroat trout across their distributional range |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch9 |pages= 199–230 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 }}</ref> [[Lake Crescent cutthroat trout]] is no longer a recognized subspecies, but a unique population of the coastal cutthroat trout [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Lake Crescent]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref name="behnke" />
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Oncorhynchus clarkii.jpg|100px|alt=Colored drawing of trout]]<br />{{nowrap|''O. c. clarkii''}}<br />Coastal cutthroat trout
|-

|}
|-
| rowspan="9" |'''[[Westslope cutthroat trout|Westslope]]'''
|Missouri River cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi lewisi''
|Native to the [[Missouri River|Missouri River drainage]] from the [[Judith River]] upstream to the headwaters. Captain [[Meriwether Lewis]] of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] described trout caught near the [[Great Falls (Missouri River)|Great Falls]] of the Missouri River in [[Montana]] on June 13, 1805.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018">{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=M.K. |first2=K.S. |last2=McKelvey |first3=T. |last3=Jennings |first4=K. |last4=Carter |first5=R. |last5=Cronn |first6=E.R. |last6=Keeley |first7=J.L. |last7=Loxterman |first8=K.L. |last8=Pilgrim |first9=M.K. |last9=Schwartz |year=2018 |chapter=The phylogeography of westslope cutthroat trout |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch11 |pages= 261–301 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 }}</ref>
|
|-
|Neoboreal cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Largest native range of all Westslope Cutthroat, and are native to parts of the upper Columbia, Fraser and Saskatchewan watersheds in Washington, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta. Several disjunct populations in British Columbia that were initially classified as a distinct subspecies the Alpine Cutthroat,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dymond |first=J. R. |date=1931-01-01 |title=Description of two new forms of British Columbia Trout |url=http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/f31-016 |journal=Contributions to Canadian Biology and Fisheries |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=391–395 |doi=10.1139/f31-016 |issn=0366-5348|url-access=subscription }}</ref> but based on taxonomic characteristics and genetics these populations clearly align with the Neoboreal Cutthroat.<ref name="behnke" /><ref name="Young-2018" />
|[[File:Westslope Cutthroat Trout Middle Fork Flathead (27912294517) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Neoboreal Cutthroat Trout from the Middle Fork Flathead River]]
|-
|Coeur d' Alene cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Native to the Coeur d' Alene River drainage in Northern Idaho.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018" />
|[[File:Coeur d’ Alene cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|Coeur d' Alene cutthroat trout]]
|-
|St. Joe cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Native the St. Joe watershed of the Idaho panhandle. Neoboreal subspecies inhabit the lower reaches of the Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe watersheds. It remains uncertain what factors distinguish them from the St. Joe Westslope Cutthroat or whether these Neoboreal fish are native to these watersheds.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018" />
|[[File:St. Joe cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|St. Joe cutthroat trout]]
|-
|North Fork Clearwater cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Native to the North Fork Clearwater River and its tributaries including Kelly Creek in Idaho.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018" />
|[[File:North Fork Clearwater cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|North Fork Clearwater cutthroat trout]]
|-
|Clearwater Headwater cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Restricted to the upper Selway River upstream of Selway Falls and the South Fork Clearwater approximately upstream of the Crooked River. The exact boundary is currently not known.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018" />
|[[File:Clearwater Headwaters cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|Clearwater Headwaters cutthroat trout]]
|-
|Clearwater-Eastern Cascades cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Native to the mainstem Clearwater River, Locsha, and lower Selway Rivers in Idaho, as well as the Eastern Cascade Mountains from the Methow River to the Yakima River in Washington State.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018" /><ref>{{cite report |last1=Trotter |first1=P. |first2=B. |last2=McMillan |first3=N. |last3=Gayeski |first4=P. |last4=Spruell |first5=M. |last5=Cook |year=2001 |title=Genetic and phenotypic catalog of native resident trout of the interior Columbia River Basin: populations in the Wenatchee, Entiat, Lake Chelan, and Methow River drainages |publisher=Bonneville Power Administration |location=Portland, OR}}</ref>
|[[File:Clearwater-Eastern Cascade cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|Clearwater-Eastern Cascade cutthroat trout]]
|-
|Salmon River cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Native to the Salmon River watershed in central Idaho.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018" /><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Shepard | first1=Bradley B. | last2=May | first2=Bruce E. | last3=Urie | first3=Wendi | title=Status and Conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout within the Western United States | journal=North American Journal of Fisheries Management | volume=25 | issue=4 | date=2005-11-01 | issn=0275-5947 | doi=10.1577/M05-004.1 | pages=1426–1440 |doi-access=free| bibcode=2005NAJFM..25.1426S }}</ref>
|[[File:Salmon River cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|Salmon River cutthroat trout]]
|-
|John Day cutthroat trout
|''O. lewisi ssp.''
|Native to about 220 miles (355&nbsp;km) of 41 tributaries to the John Day River watershed in Oregon. Has the smallest and southern-most range of all Westslope Cutthroat.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Young-2018" /><ref>{{cite report |last1=Howell |first1=P |first2=P. |last2=Spruell |first3=R. |last3=Leary |year=2003 |title=Information regarding the origin and genetic characteristics of westslope cutthroat trout in Oregon and Central Washington |publisher=United States Forest Service |location=La Grande, Oregon |url=http://ykfp.org/publications/cutthroat/OR-WA_genetics_summary_Howell_02-03b.doc |format=DOC}}</ref>
|[[File:John Day cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|John Day cutthroat trout]]
|-
| rowspan="6" |'''[[Lahontan cutthroat trout|Lahontan]]'''
|[[Alvord cutthroat trout]]
|{{nowrap|''O. henshawii alvordensis†''}} <small>[[Robert J. Behnke|Behnke]], 2002</small>
|Was endemic to tributaries of [[Alvord Lake (Oregon)|Alvord Lake]] in southeastern Oregon; considered [[extinct]].<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Trotter-2008" />
|
|-
|Quinn River cutthroat trout
|''O. henshawi ssp.''
|Native to the Quinn River drainage of northern Nevada and southeastern Oregon.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Peacock-2018">{{cite book |last1=Peacock |first1=M.M. |first2=H.M. |last2=Neville |first3=A.J. |last3=Finger |year=2018 |chapter=The Lahontan basin evolutionary lineage of cutthroat trout |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch10 |pages= 231–259 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 }}</ref>
|[[File:Quinn River cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|Quinn River cutthroat trout]]
|-
|[[Humboldt cutthroat trout]]
|{{nowrap|''O. h. humboldtensis''}} <small>Trotter and Behnke, 2008</small><ref name="BT" />
|Upper [[Humboldt River]].<ref name="BT" /> Considered by the Nevada Division of Wildlife to be a population of {{nowrap|''O. c. henshawi''}}.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref>Its range is designated as the Humboldt River [[distinct population segment]] of ''O. c. henshawi'' by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Nevada Division of Wildlife {{cite book |last=Trotter |first=Patrick C. |title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West |publisher=University of California Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-520-25458-9 |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=191–214 |chapter=Humboldt Cutthroat Trout}}</ref><ref name="Peacock-2018" />
|[[File:Lahontan cutthroat trout in northern Nevada. (52760660088).jpg|thumb|Humboldt cutthroat trout]]
|-
|Lahontan cutthroat trout
|{{nowrap|''O. h. henshawi''}} <small>([[Theodore Gill|Gill]] and Jordan, 1878)</small>
|Native in eastern California and western Nevada; it is designated as [[Threatened species|threatened]] (1975).<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Species Profile-Lahontan cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi'') |url=http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=E00Y |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113135053/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=E00Y |archive-date=2013-11-13 |access-date=2013-12-25 |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref><ref name="Peacock-2018" />
|[[File:Lahontan cutthroat trout usfws.jpg|thumb|Lahontan cutthroat trout]]
|-
|[[Whitehorse Basin cutthroat trout|Willow-Whitehorse Basin cutthroat trout]]
|{{nowrap|''O. h.'' ssp.}}<small>, considered a separate subspecies by Behnke (2002),<ref name="behnke" /> but not by Trotter and Behnke (2008).<ref name="BT" /></small> 
|Native to southeastern Oregon.<ref name="wht" /> Considered a [[distinct population segment]] of the [[Lahontan cutthroat trout]] by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,<ref name="wht" /> and of the [[Humboldt cutthroat trout]] by Trotter and Behnke (2008).<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="BT" /><ref name="Peacock-2018" />
|[[File:Willow-Whitehorse Basin Cutthroat Trout.jpg|thumb|Willow-Whitehorse Basin Cutthroat Trout]]
|-
|[[Paiute cutthroat trout]]
|{{nowrap|''O. h. seleniris''}} <small>([[John Otterbein Snyder|J. O. Snyder]], 1933)</small>
|Endemic to the eastern [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada Mountains]]; it is designated as threatened (1975).<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Peacock-2018" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Species Profile-Paiute cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii seleniris'') |url=http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=E00G |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226114607/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=E00G |archive-date=2013-12-26 |access-date=2013-12-25 |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref>
|[[File:Paiute cutthroat trout (15661670853).jpg|thumb|Paiute cutthroat trout]]
|-
| rowspan="9" |'''[[Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout|Rocky Mountain Cutthroat Trout]]'''
|[[Rio Grande cutthroat trout|Rio Grande]] cutthroat trout
|''Oncorhynchus virginalis virginalis''
|The southernmost subspecies of cutthroat trout, native to the Rio Grande, Canadian and Pecos River drainages of New Mexico and Colorado.<ref name="Trotter-2018" /><ref name="Martin-2018">{{cite book |last1=Rogers |last2=Bestgen |last3=Love Stowell |last4=Martin |year=2018 |chapter=Cutthroat Trout Diversity in the Southern Rocky Mountains |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch13 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 }}</ref> Despite the fact that the Canadian drainage is tributary to the Arkansas River and not the Rio Grande,<ref name="BehnkeOclarki-138" /> genetic evidence shows they Canadian drainage from a headwater transfer from the Pecos drainage.<ref name="Pritchard-2009">{{cite journal | last1=Pritchard | first1=V. L. | last2=Metcalf | first2=J. L. | last3=Jones | first3=K. | last4=Martin | first4=A. P. | last5=Cowley | first5=D. E. | title=Population structure and genetic management of Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii virginalis) | journal=Conservation Genetics | volume=10 | issue=5 | date=2009 | issn=1566-0621 | doi=10.1007/s10592-008-9652-8 | pages=1209–1221 | bibcode=2009ConG...10.1209P | url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10592-008-9652-8 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rio Grande cutthroat were likely native to the Davis Mountains of Texas as well.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Garrett |first1=G.P. |last2=Matlock |first2=G.C. |year=1991 |title=Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout in Texas |journal=The Texas Journal of Science |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=405–410}}</ref>
|[[File:Oncorhynchus_clarkii_virginalis.jpg|thumb|'''Rio Grande Cutthroat''']]
|-
|[[Yellowstone cutthroat trout|Yellowstone]] cutthroat trout
|''O. v. bouvierii''
|Native to the Yellowstone and Upper Snake River drainages of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and small areas of Utah and Nevada. The Snake River Finespotted cutthroat was once considered a distinct subspecies. However, recent genetic studies<ref name="Campbell-2018">{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Matthew R. |last2=Keeley |last3=Kozfkay |last4=Loxterman |last5=Evans |year=2018 |chapter=Describing and Preserving the Diversity of Cutthroat Trout in the Yellowstone River, Snake River, and Bonneville Basin |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch12 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 }}</ref> reveal that it is actually a uniquely spotted form of the Yellowstone cutthroat. Previously, the Yellowstone cutthroat was classified as a "major" subspecies<ref name="behnke" /><ref name="BehnkeOclarki-138" /> of cutthroat trout, but more recent classifications<ref name="Trotter-2018" /> now regard it as a subspecies of the Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout.
|[[File:Yellowstone_cutthroat.JPG|thumb]]
|-
|[[Bonneville cutthroat trout|Bonneville]] cutthroat trout
|''O. v. utah''
|The Bonneville cutthroat evolved in ancient [[Lake Bonneville]], which reached its peak during the last ice age, and overflowed into the Snake River.<ref>{{cite report |last1=Mifflin |first1=M.D. |last2=Wheat |first2=M.M. |year=1979 |title=Pluvial lakes and estimated pluvial climates of Nevada |id=Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 94 |publisher=Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada |location=Reno, NV |url=https://www.nativefishlab.net/library/textpdf/15268.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oviatt |first=Charles G. |year=2015 |title=Chronology of Lake Bonneville, 30,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |publisher=Elsevier BV |volume=110 |pages=166–171 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.12.016 |issn=0277-3791}}</ref> Today, most existing populations are found in small, isolated streams along the basin's edge. Additionally, there are remnant populations within the current native range of the Yellowstone cutthroat, located in a few small streams in the [[Raft River|Raft]] and [[Portneuf River (Idaho)|Portneuf River]] drainages in Idaho, from when ancient [[Bonneville flood|Lake Bonneville overflowed]] into the Snake River drainage during the last ice age.<ref name="Campbell-2018" /><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Eaton | first1=Kendra R. | last2=Loxterman | first2=Janet L. | last3=Keeley | first3=Ernest R. | title=Connections and containers: Using genetic data to understand how watershed evolution and human activities influence cutthroat trout biogeography | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=13 | issue=8 | date=2018 | issn=1932-6203 | pmid=30096159 | pmc=6086439 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0202043 | doi-access=free | article-number=e0202043| bibcode=2018PLoSO..1302043E }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Oviatt |first=C.G. | date=2021-08-12 | isbn=978-0-8137-2536-9 | doi=10.1130/2018.2536(04) |chapter=Geomorphic controls on sedimentation in Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, eastern Great Basin |editor-last1=Starratt |editor-first1=S.W. |editor-last2=Rosen |editor-first2=M.R. |title=From saline to freshwater: The diversity of western lakes in space and time |publisher=Geological Society of America |id=Special Paper 536 |pages=53–66}}</ref>
|[[File:Bonneville_cutthroat.jpg|thumb]]
|-
|Bear River cutthroat trout
|''O. v.'' ssp.
|Native to the Bear River watershed at the Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming border. The Bear River cutthroat were lumped with the Bonneville cutthroat as a single subspecies until recently.<ref name="behnke" /><ref name="BehnkeOclarki-138" /> Genetic studies show they are actually more closely related to the Yellowstone cutthroat than to the Bonneville cutthroat.<ref name="Campbell-2018" /><ref>{{cite report |last1=Campbell |first1=M. |first2=C.C. |last2=Kozfkay |first3=A. |last3=Boone |first4=D. |last4=Teuscher |year=2007 |title=Genetic investigations of Bonneville Cutthroat Trout in the Bear River drainage, Idaho: distribution of mitochondrial DNA diversity and Rainbow Trout hybridization and introgression |type=Final Report |id=IDFG Report Number 07-36 |publisher=Idaho Department of Fish and Game |location=Boise, Idaho |url=https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/hydro/bear-river/annual-reports/past-reports/2007-report/2007-7_Bonneville_Cutthroat_Trout_Genetics_Study.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=Matthew R. |last2=Kozfkay |first2=Christine C. |last3=Meyer |first3=Kevin A. |last4=Powell |first4=Madison S. |last5=Williams |first5=Richard N. |date=2011 |title=Historical Influences of Volcanism and Glaciation in Shaping Mitochondrial DNA Variation and Distribution in Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout across Its Native Range |url=https://academic.oup.com/tafs/article/140/1/91/7877605 |journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society |volume=140 |issue=1 |pages=91–107 |doi=10.1080/00028487.2011.557001 |bibcode=2011TrAFS.140...91C |issn=0002-8487|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Geological evidence suggests that the Bear River flowed into the Snake River until about 500,000 years ago, when volcanic activity redirected the river south into its own basin and formed ancient Lake Thatcher.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Bouchard | first1=David P. | last2=Kaufman | first2=Darrell S. | last3=Hochberg | first3=Amy | last4=Quade | first4=Jay | title=Quaternary history of the Thatcher Basin, Idaho, reconstructed from the 87Sr/86Sr and amino acid composition of lacustrine fossils: implications for the diversion of the Bear River into the Bonneville Basin | journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology | volume=141 | issue=1–2 | date=1998 | doi=10.1016/S0031-0182(98)00005-4 | pages=95–114 | bibcode=1998PPP...141...95B | url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018298000054 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> The connection to the Bonneville Basin likely occurred around 20,000 years ago when Lake Thatcher overflowed into ancient Lake Bonneville.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Link |first1=P.K. |first2=D.S. |last2=Kaufman |first3=G.D. |last3=Thackray |year=1999 |chapter=Field guide to Pleistocene Lakes Thatcher and Bonneville and the Bonneville flood, southeastern Idaho |pages= 251–266 |editor-first1=S.S. |editor-last1=Hughes |editor-first2=G.D. |editor-last2=Thackray |title=Guidebook to the geology of eastern Idaho |publisher=Idaho Museum of Natural History |location=Pocatello |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251828587}}</ref> Genetic evidence indicates a distinctiveness from Bonneville cutthroat, and is recognized as a distinct subspecies.<ref name="Trotter-2018" />
|[[File:Bear_river_ct_ID_09222019_(1).jpg|thumb|Bear River Cutthroat Trout]]
|-
|[[Yellowfin cutthroat trout|Yellowfin]] cutthroat trout
|''O. v. macdonaldi''†
|Native to the [[Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado|Twin Lakes]] of the [[Arkansas River]] drainage in Colorado.<ref name="behnke" /> The Yellowfin cutthroat shared its habitat with the greenback cutthroat trout, but was distinguished by its morphology and life history. After the introduction of rainbow trout into Twin Lakes, the Yellowfin cutthroat trout went extinct.<ref name="Rogers-2012">{{cite magazine |last=Rogers |first=K. B. |title=Piecing together the past: using DNA to resolve the heritage of our state fish |magazine=Colorado Outdoors |date=September–October 2012 |pages=28–32}}</ref><ref name="Martin-2018" /><ref name="Stearly-2018">{{cite book |last1=Love Stowell |last2=Metcalf |last3=Markle |last4=Stearly |year=2018 |chapter=Species Conceptualization and Delimitation: A Framework for the Taxonomic Revision of Cutthroat Trout |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch2 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 }}</ref> Recent research has speculated that the Yellowfin cutthroat may have been native to the entire Arkansas River basin, not just Twin Lakes.<ref name="Rogers-2012" /> Efforts are underway with hopes of locating a lost population.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=G. R. |first2=T. E. |last2=Dowling |first3=K. W. |last3=Gobalet |first4=T. |last4=Lugaski |first5=D. K. |last5=Shiozawa |first6=R. P. |last6=Evans |year=2002 |chapter=Biogeography and timing of evolutionary events among Great Basin fishes |pages= 175–234 |editor-first1=R. |editor-last1=Hershler |editor-first2=D. B. |editor-last2=Madsen |editor-first3=D. R. |editor-last3=Curry |title=Great Basin aquatic systems history |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |series=Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences |volume=33 |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter-url=http://prod.lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/ummz-assets/ummz-docs/biogeography-timing-evol-events-greatbasin-fish.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Loxterman |first1=Janet L |last2=Keeley |first2=Ernest R |date=2012 |title=Watershed boundaries and geographic isolation: patterns of diversification in cutthroat trout from western North America |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=38 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-12-38 |issn=1471-2148 |pmc=3320548 |pmid=22429757 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2012BMCEE..12...38L }}</ref> A rare strain of cutthroat from Hayden Creek, tributary to the Arkansas River, was rescued from a [[Hayden Pass Fire|fire in 2016]], and used to reestablish populations around the basin.<ref name="Metcalf-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Metcalf |first1=J. L. |last2=Love Stowell |first2=S. |last3=Kennedy |first3=C. M. |last4=Rogers |first4=K. B. |last5=McDonald |first5=D. |last6=Epp |first6=J. |last7=Keepers |first7=K. |last8=Cooper |first8=A. |last9=Austin |first9=J. J. |last10=Martin |first10=A. P. |date=2012 |title=Historical stocking data and 19th century DNA reveal human-induced changes to native diversity and distribution of cutthroat trout |url=http://www.ppctu.org/uploads/1/4/0/7/140721105/mec12028_metcalf_etal_2012.pdf |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=21 |issue=21 |pages=5194–5207 |doi=10.1111/mec.12028 |pmid=22998121 |bibcode=2012MolEc..21.5194M |issn=0962-1083}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |last1=Bestgen |first1=K. R. |first2=K. B. |last2=Rogers |first3=R. |last3=Granger |year=2013 |title=Phenotype predicts genotype for lineages of native Cutthroat Trout in the Southern Rocky Mountains |publisher=Colorado State University, Larval Fish Laboratory |location=Fort Collins |type=Final report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Field Office, Denver}}</ref> These are the only known fish to share genetics with Yellowfin cutthroat.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shiozawa |first1=D. K. |first2=R. P. |last2=Evans |first3=D. D. |last3=Houston |first4=P. J. |last4=Unmack |year=2018 |chapter=Geographic variation, isolation, and evolution of Cutthroat Trout with comments on future directions for management and research |editor-last1=Trotter |editor-first1=P |editor-last2=Bisson |editor-first2=P |editor-last3=Schultz |editor-first3=L |editor-last4=Roper |editor-first4=B |title=Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy |id=Special Publication 36 |publisher=American Fisheries Society |location=Bethesda, Maryland |doi=10.47886/9781934874509.ch6 |pages= 129–172 |isbn=978-1-934874-50-9 }}</ref>
|[[File:FMIB_51774_Yellow-fin_Trout_of_Twin_Lakes,_Salmo_macdonaldi_Jordan_&_Evermann_Twin_Lakes,_Colo.jpeg|thumb|Yellowfin Cutthroat]]
|-
|[[Colorado River cutthroat trout|Colorado River]] cutthroat trout
|''O. v. pleuriticus''
|Sometimes referred to as the "green lineage" in scientific literature. Native to the [[Dolores River|Dolores]], [[Colorado River|Colorado]], and [[Gunnison River]] Basins.<ref name="Martin-2018" /><ref name="Metcalf-2012" /> Some small populations existed in Utah.<ref name="Bestgen-2019">{{cite journal | last1=Bestgen | first1=Kevin R. | last2=Rogers | first2=Kevin B. | last3=Granger | first3=Robert | title=Distinct Phenotypes of Native Cutthroat Trout Emerge under a Molecular Model of Lineage Distributions | journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society | volume=148 | issue=2 | date=2019 | issn=0002-8487 | doi=10.1002/tafs.10145 | doi-access=free | pages=442–463 | bibcode=2019TrAFS.148..442B }}</ref>
|[[File:Colorado_River_cutthroat_trout.jpg|thumb|Colorado River cutthroat trout]]
|-
|Green River cutthroat trout
|''O. v.'' ssp.
|Historically lumped into the Colorado River cutthroat, and native to the White, [[Yampa River|Yampa]], and [[Green River (Colorado River tributary)|upper Green River]] watersheds, extending from northwest Colorado, southwest Wyoming, and into eastern and central Utah.<ref name="Metcalf-2012" /><ref name="Martin-2018" /> Sometimes referred to as the "blue lineage" in scientific literature. Stocking programs using wild eggs collected from [[Trappers Lake]] in the early 1900s has resulted in pure, healthy populations - sometimes well outside its native range.<ref name="Martin-2018" /><ref name="Bestgen-2019" />
|[[File:Colo_river_cutthroat_BLM.jpg|thumb|Green River cutthroat trout]]
|-
|San Juan cutthroat trout
|''O. v.'' ssp.
|Also lumped in with the Colorado River cutthroat. Native to [[San Juan River (Colorado River tributary)|San Juan River]] and its tributaries across small portions of the [[Four Corners|Four Corners region]]. This trout was formally re-discovered in 2012, by analyzing the genetics of two museum specimens obtained from the basin in 1874.<ref name="Metcalf-2012" /><ref name="Martin-2018" /> Between 2012 and mid-2018, it was presumed extinct, until a handful of populations were discovered near the [[San Juan National Forest]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Votel |first=Missy |title=DNA test leads to discovery of San Juan cutthroat |newspaper=Durango Telegraph |url=https://www.durangotelegraph.com/news/top-stories/dna-test-leads-to-discovery-of-san-juan-cutthroat/ |date=2018-09-06}}</ref> The [[416 Fire]] prompted a hasty rescue of pure specimens from two remote creeks, and have been used to establish a brood stock and restore populations around the basin.<ref name="Bestgen-2019" /><ref>{{cite news | last=Finley | first=Bruce | title=Colorado biologists rediscover fish long thought to be extinct — then rescue them as wildfire advances | newspaper=The Denver Post | date=2018-09-06 | url=https://www.denverpost.com/2018/09/05/colorado-san-juan-cutthroat-trout/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |publisher=San Juan National Forest |date=2021-08-18 |title=Second phase of San Juan Cutthroat restoration scheduled for Wolf Creek headwaters}}</ref>
|[[File:San_Juan_Cutthroat_Trout.jpg|thumb|San Juan cutthroat trout]]
|-
|[[Greenback cutthroat trout|Greenback]] cutthroat trout
|''O. v. stomias'' (threatened)
|Native to the South Platte River basin, though also considered native to the Arkansas basin at one time.<ref name="Martin-2018" /><ref name="Metcalf-2012" /><ref name="Pritchard-2009" /> It was considered extinct by the 1930s, until a population was discovered in [[Rocky Mountain National Park]] in 1957. This led to extensive progress towards reestablishing populations across Colorado. However, in 2012, genetic testing revealed that the trout used in the many-decade reintroduction program were [[Colorado River cutthroat trout|Colorado River]] or Rio Grande cutthroats, and that the only remaining population of pure greenbacks were in a 4-mile (6.4&nbsp;km) stretch of [[Bear Creek (Kansas)|Bear Creek]], a [[tributary]] of the [[Arkansas River]].<ref name="Martin-2018" /><ref name="Metcalf-2012" /><ref name="Pritchard-2009" /> Several populations have since been established using this pure broodstock. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced in 2022 that the wild spawning of greenbacks had been observed.<ref>{{cite web | title=Gov. Polis: CPW discovered threatened greenback cutthroat trout naturally reproducing in Ancestral Waters of their native South Platte drainage | website=Colorado Parks and Wildlife | date=Sep 23, 2022 | url=https://cpw.state.co.us/news/09232022/gov-polis-cpw-discovered-threatened-greenback-cutthroat-trout-naturally-reproducing }}</ref>
|[[File:Greenbackcutthroat.jpg|thumb|Greenback cutthroat trout]]
|-
| colspan="5" |<small>*as proposed by Love Stowell, et al. 2018.</small><ref name="Stearly-2018" />
|}

==Description==
[[File:Yellowstone cutthroat trout slash.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photo of cutthroat trout head with red throat slashes|Head of Yellowstone cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. c. bouvierii'')}}, showing the characteristic red bands under the [[gill cover]]s and [[fish jaw#Lower|mandible]]s]]
Throughout their native and introduced ranges, cutthroat trout vary widely in size, coloration and habitat selection. Their coloration can range from golden to gray to green on the back. Cutthroat trout can generally be distinguished from rainbow trout by the presence of [[Branchial arch|basibranchial teeth]] at the base of tongue and a [[maxilla]]ry that extends beyond the posterior edge of the eye.<ref>{{cite book|last=Trotter|first=Patrick C.|title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, CA |year=2008|edition=2nd|isbn=978-0-520-25458-9|page=16}}</ref> Depending on subspecies, [[Strain (biology)|strain]] and habitat, most have distinctive red, pink, or orange linear marks along the underside of their [[mandible]]s in the lower folds of the [[gill]] plates. These markings are responsible for the common name "cutthroat", first given to the trout by outdoor writer [[Charles Hallock]] in an 1884 article in ''The American Angler''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Trotter|first=Patrick C.|title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, CA|year=2008|edition=2nd|isbn=978-0-520-25458-9|page=13}}</ref> These markings are not unique to the species. Some coastal rainbow trout {{nowrap|(''Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus'')}} and [[Columbia River redband trout]] {{nowrap|(''O. m. gairdneri'')}} populations also display reddish or pink throat markings.<ref name=BehnkeOclarki/>

At maturity, different populations and subspecies of cutthroat trout can range from {{convert|6|to|40|in|cm}} in length, depending on habitat and food availability. Sea-run forms of coastal cutthroat trout average {{convert|2|to|5|lbs|kg|1}}. The length and weights of mature inland forms vary widely depending on their particular environment and availability of food. Stream-resident fish are much smaller, {{convert|0.4|to|3.2|oz|g}}, while [[lake|lacustrine]] populations have attained weights ranging from {{convert|12|to|17|lbs|kg|abbr=on}} in ideal conditions.<ref name=BehnkeOclarki/> The largest cutthroat trout subspecies is the Lahontan cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. h. henshawi'')}}. These fish average {{convert|8|to|9|in|cm|abbr=on}} in small streams and {{convert|8|to|22|in|cm|abbr=on}} in larger rivers and lakes. In ideal environments, the Lahontan cutthroat trout attains typical weights of {{convert|0.25|to|8|lbs|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name=BehnkeOclarki/> The world record cutthroat trout is a Lahontan at {{convert|39|in|cm|abbr=on}} and {{convert|41|lbs|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name=IGFA/>

===Lifecycle===
Cutthroat trout usually inhabit and spawn in small to moderately large, clear, well-oxygenated, shallow rivers with [[gravel]] bottoms. They are native to the alluvial or [[freestone stream]]s typical of tributaries of the Pacific Basin, Great Basin and Rocky Mountains. They spawn in the spring, as early as February in coastal rivers and as late as July in high mountain lakes and streams. Spawning begins when water temperatures reach {{convert|43|to|46|F|abbr=on}}.<ref name=BehnkeOclarki-141>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke |author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America |publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|pages=141–142|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref> Cutthroat trout construct a [[Spawn (biology)#Brood hiders|redd]] in the stream gravel to lay eggs. The female selects the site for and excavates the redd. Females, depending on size, lay between 200 and 4,400&nbsp;eggs. Eggs are fertilized with milt (sperm) by an attending male. Eggs hatch into [[Juvenile fish#Juvenile salmon|alevins]] or sac fry in about a month and spend two weeks in the gravel while they absorb their yolk sack before emerging. After emergence, [[Fry (biology)|fry]] begin feeding on [[zooplankton]]. Juvenile cutthroat trout typically mature in three to five years.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs143_010039.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140317194806/http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs143_010039.pdf |archive-date= March 17, 2014 |title= Cutthroat Trout (''Oncorhynchus clarki'') |publisher= U.S. Department of Agriculture |date=January 2007 |access-date=2014-03-17}}</ref> Lake-resident cutthroat trout are usually found in moderately deep, cool lakes with adequate shallows and vegetation for good food production. Lake populations generally require access to gravel-bottomed streams to be self-sustaining, but occasionally spawn on shallow gravel beds with good water circulation.<ref name=BehnkeOclarki-141/>

Cutthroat trout naturally interbreed with the closely related rainbow trout, producing fertile [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]]s commonly called "[[cutbow]]s". This hybrid generally bears similar coloration and overall appearance to the cutthroat trout, usually retaining the characteristic orange-red slash. Cutbow hybrids often pose a taxonomic difficulty when trying to distinguish any given specimen as a rainbow or cutthroat trout.<ref name=Halverson>{{cite book |last=Halverson|first=Anders|title=An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World|url=https://archive.org/details/entirelysyntheti0000halv|url-access=registration|chapter=A Single New Mongrel Species|publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, CT|pages=[https://archive.org/details/entirelysyntheti0000halv/page/145 145–164]|isbn=978-0-300-14087-3|year=2010}}</ref> In addition, cutthroat trout may hybridize with {{nowrap|''O. gilae''}}, the [[Gila trout]] and {{nowrap|''O. apache''}}, the [[Apache trout]] in regions where their ranges overlap.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Documents/SpeciesDocs/Apache_Trout/Apache%20Trout%20Recovery%20Plan%202nd%20Revision.pdf|title=Apache Trout ''Oncorhynchus apache'' Recovery Plan|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|date=August 2009|access-date=2013-12-25|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111318/http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Documents/SpeciesDocs/Apache_Trout/Apache%20Trout%20Recovery%20Plan%202nd%20Revision.pdf}}</ref>

==Ecology==
===Range===
[[File:Oncorhynchus clarki range map.JPG|thumb|alt=Map of native and non-native range of cutthroat trout|Native and non-native U.S. range for ''O. clarkii'', cutthroat trout<ref name=usgs>{{cite web|url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=890|title=NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species-Oncorhynchus clarki|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=2013-12-20}}</ref>]]
Cutthroat trout are native to western North America and have evolved through [[geographic isolation]] into at least 25 genetically-recognizable lineages, each native to a different major [[drainage basin]]. Native cutthroat trout species are found along the [[Pacific Northwest]] coast from [[Alaska]] through British Columbia into northern [[California]], in the [[Cascade Range]], the [[Great Basin]] and throughout the Rocky Mountains including southern [[Alberta]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke|author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America|publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|pages=143–145|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref> Some coastal populations of the coastal cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. c. clarkii'')}} are semi-anadromous, spending a few months in marine environments to feed as adults and returning to fresh water from fall through early spring to feed on insects and spawn. Cutthroat trout have the second-largest historic native range of North American trout; the [[lake trout]] {{nowrap|(''Salvelinus namaycush'')}} having the largest.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke|author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America|publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|page=143|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref> Ranges of some subspecies, particularly the westslope cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. l. lewisi'')}}, have been reduced to less than 10&nbsp;percent of their historic range due to habitat loss and introduction of non-native species.<ref name=Halverson/>

Although members of ''Oncorhynchus'', the Pacific trout/salmon species, multiple lineages evolved populations east of the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|Continental Divide]] in the upper Missouri River basin, upper [[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] and [[Platte River]] basins and upper Yellowstone River basin, each which drain into the Atlantic basin via the [[Mississippi River]] (in 2005, researchers published a report stating that a natural distribution of {{nowrap|(''O. mykiss'')}}, the Conchos trout, is also located in an Atlantic basin drainage<ref name="Truchas-2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/tnhc/fish/research/truchas_mexicanas/pub/conchos/Conchos_trout_white_paper_April_13_2006_general.pdf |title=Conservation of The Conchos Trout: A White Paper On History of Its Discovery, Report on Its Status, and An Urgent Plea For Action  |publisher=Truchas Mexicanas |access-date=2014-02-12}}</ref>). Scientists believe that the climatic and geologic conditions 3–5&nbsp;million years ago allowed cutthroat trout from the [[Snake River]] to migrate over the divide into the Yellowstone plateau via [[Two Ocean Pass]]. There is also evidence that [[Yellowstone Lake]] once drained south into the Snake River drainage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Trotter|first=Patrick C.|title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, CA|year=2008|edition=2nd|isbn=978-0-520-25458-9|chapter=Evolution and Prehistoric Distribution|pages=56–57}}</ref> Evidence suggests that the westslope cutthroat trout was able to establish populations east of the divide via [[Summit Lake (Montana)|Summit Lake]] at [[Marias Pass]] which at one time connected the [[Flathead River]] drainage with the upper Missouri River drainage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Trotter |first=Patrick C.|title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, CA |year=2008 |edition=2nd|isbn=978-0-520-25458-9|chapter=Evolution and Prehistoric Distribution |page=51}}</ref> Scientists speculate that there are several mountain passes associated with the headwaters of the [[Colorado River]] drainage and Arkansas/Platte River drainages that would have allowed migration of cutthroat trout east of the divide.<ref>{{cite book|last=Trotter|first=Patrick C.|title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West |publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, CA|year=2008|edition=2nd|isbn=978-0-520-25458-9|chapter=Greenback Cutthroat Trout |pages=389–398}}</ref>

Cutthroat trout have been introduced into non-native waters outside their historic native range, but not to the extent of the rainbow trout {{nowrap|(''O. mykiss'')}}.<ref name=usgs/> Within the native range of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout, [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fisheries Bureau]] and [[National Park Service]] authorities introduced Yellowstone cutthroat trout into many fishless lakes in [[Yellowstone National Park]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kendall|first=W. C.|title=The Fishes of the Yellowstone National Park|publisher=Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries |location=Washington D.C.|pages=3–9|year=1915|url=https://archive.org/download/fishesofyellowst00kendrich/fishesofyellowst00kendrich.pdf}}</ref> Cutthroat trout were introduced into [[Lake Michigan]] tributaries in the 1890s and sporadically in the early 20th century, but never established wild populations. A population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout purportedly has been established in [[Lake Huron]].<ref name="Crawford-2001">{{cite book|last=Crawford|first=Stephen Scott |title=Salmonine Introductions to the Laurentian Great Lakes: An Historical Review and Evaluation of Ecological Effects|publisher=National Research Council of Canada|year=2001|isbn=0-660-17639-4|page=74}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/specimenviewer.aspx?SpecimenID=159976|title=NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species / Specimen Information / Oncorhynchus clarkii (Cutthroat Trout)|access-date=2016-04-27}}</ref> Cutthroat are routinely introduced by the [[Arizona Game and Fish Department]] into high mountain lakes in the [[White Mountains (Arizona)|White Mountains]] in the northeastern region of that state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/fish_cutthroat_trout.shtml|title=Cutthroat Trout|publisher=Arizona Game and Fish Department|access-date=2013-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224095207/http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/fish_cutthroat_trout.shtml|archive-date=2013-12-24}}</ref>
[[File:Distribution of Cutthroat Trout Evolutionary Units.jpg|center|thumb|1035x1035px|Distribution of Cutthroat Trout Evolutionary Units]]

===Habitat===
[[File:East Fork Bitterroot River.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo of mountain stream-typical cutthroat trout habitat|Typical cutthroat trout habitat in the East Fork of the [[Bitterroot River]], [[Sula, Montana]]]]
Cutthroat trout require cold, clear, well-oxygenated, shallow rivers with gravel bottoms or cold, moderately deep lakes. Healthy stream-side vegetation that reduces [[siltation]] is typical of healthy cutthroat trout habitat and [[North American beaver|beaver]] ponds may provide refuge during periods of drought and over winter.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Complementation of Habitats for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout in Watersheds Influenced by Beavers, Livestock, and Drought| last=White | first=Seth M. | last2=Rahel | first2=Frank J. |journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society|volume=137|issue=3 |pages=881–894|year=2008|url=http://www.uwyo.edu/frahel/pdfs/white-2008-1.pdf|access-date=2013-12-23|doi=10.1577/t06-207.1|bibcode=2008TrAFS.137..881W }}</ref><ref name="Jakober-1998">{{cite journal |title=Role of stream ice on Fall and Winter Movements and Habitat Use by Bull Trout and Cutthroat Trout in Montana Headwater Streams | last=Jakober | first=Michael J. | last2=McMahon | first2=Thomas E. | last3=Thurow | first3=Russell F. | last4=Clancy | first4=Christopher G. |journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society |year=1998 |url=http://www.montana.edu/mcmahon/Jakober%20winter%20ice.pdf |access-date=2013-12-23 |doi=10.1577/1548-8659(1998)127<0223:rosiof>2.0.co;2 |volume=127 |issue=2 |pages=223–235 |bibcode=1998TrAFS.127..223J |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212202242/http://www.montana.edu/mcmahon/Jakober%20winter%20ice.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-12 }}</ref> Most populations stay in fresh water throughout their lives and are known as nonmigratory, stream-resident or [[riverine]] populations.<ref name=BehnkeOclarki/> The coastal cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. clarkii'')}} is the only cutthroat trout subspecies to [[Coevolution|coevolve]] through its entire range with the coastal rainbow trout (''O. m. irideus''). Portions of the Westslope cutthroat trout's {{nowrap|(''O. lewisi'')}} range overlap with the Columbia River redband trout {{nowrap|(''O. m. gairdneri'')}}, but the majority of its native range is in headwater tributary streams above major waterfalls and other barriers to upstream migration.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke|others=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America|publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|pages=158–160|chapter=Westslope cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi''}}</ref> At least three subspecies are confined to [[endorheic basin|isolated basin]]s in the Great Basin and can tolerate [[Saline water|saline]] or [[Alkalinity|alkaline]] water.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lahontan Cutthroat Trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi''|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|url=http://www.fws.gov/ecos/ajax/docs/life_histories/E00Y.html|access-date=2013-12-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000206/http://www.fws.gov/ecos/ajax/docs/life_histories/E00Y.html|archive-date=2013-12-31}}</ref>

Cutthroat trout are [[List of feeding behaviours|opportunistic feeders]]. Stream-resident cutthroat trout primarily feed on [[larva]]l, [[pupa]]l and adult forms of aquatic insects (typically [[Caddisfly|caddisflies]], [[Plecoptera|stoneflies]], [[mayflies]] and aquatic [[Fly|diptera]]ns), and adult forms of terrestrial insects (typically [[ant]]s, [[beetle]]s, [[grasshopper]]s and [[Cricket (insect)|cricket]]s) that fall into the water, fish eggs, small fish, along with crayfish, shrimp and other crustaceans. As they grow the proportion of fish consumed increases in most populations. In saltwater estuaries and along beaches, Coastal cutthroat trout feed on small fish such as [[sculpin]]s, [[sand lance]], [[Salmon|salmon fry]] and [[herring]].<ref name="Johnson-2004">{{cite book |last=Johnson|first=Les|title=Fly-Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout: Flies, Techniques, Conservation |publisher=Frank Amato Publishers|location=Portland, OR|year=2004|isbn=978-1-57188-334-6 |chapter=Life History of the Coastal Cutthroat |pages=21–26}}</ref> They also consume [[shrimp]], small [[squid]] and [[krill]]. In fresh water, they consume the same diet as stream resident trout&mdash;aquatic insects and crustaceans, amphibians, earthworms, small fish and fish eggs.<ref>{{cite web|title=BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary Oncorhynchus clarkii Cutthroat Trout|publisher=Ministry of Environment, Government of British Columbia|url=http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/speciesSummary.do?id=17659|access-date=2013-12-23}}</ref> Within the range of the [[bull trout]] {{nowrap|(''Salvelinus confluentus'')}} the cutthroat trout is a [[forage fish]] for the [[Piscivore|piscivorous]] bull trout.<ref name="Bull-2012">{{cite web|url=http://library.fws.gov/Pubs1/bulltrout.pdf|title=Bull Trout Facts (Salvelinus confluentus)|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=2013-12-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710010045/http://library.fws.gov/Pubs1/bulltrout.pdf|archive-date=2012-07-10}}</ref>

===Artificial propagation===
[[File:OFFICIALS OF THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE RELEASE CUTTHROAT TROUT INTO PYRAMID LAKE FROM SUTCLIFFE'S LANDING ON... - NARA - 553655.jpg|right|thumb|upright|alt=Photo of men stocking trout in a lake|Stocking cutthroat trout at Pyramid Lake in Nevada in 1973]]
Various subspecies of cutthroat trout are raised in commercial, state and federal [[Fish hatchery|hatcheries]] for introduction into suitable native and non-native riverine and lacustrine environments. In the early 20th century, several hatcheries were established in Yellowstone National Park by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Bureau of Fisheries]]. These hatcheries not only produced stocks of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. v. bouvierii'')}} for the park, but also took advantage of the great spawning stock of cutthroat trout to supply eggs to hatcheries around the U.S. Between the years 1901 and 1953 a total of 818&nbsp;million trout eggs were exported from the park to hatcheries throughout the U.S.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Franke|first=Mary Ann|date=Fall 1996|title=A Grand Experiment—100 Years of Fisheries Management in Yellowstone: Part I|journal=Yellowstone Science|volume=4|issue=4|page=5|url=http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/files/pdf/1-FRANKE.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216061818/http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/files/pdf/1-FRANKE.pdf|archive-date=2014-12-16|access-date=2014-03-01}}</ref> The Lahontan National Fish Hatchery operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service exists to restore populations of the Lahontan cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. h. henshawi'')}} in [[Pyramid Lake (Nevada)|Pyramid]], [[Walker Lake (Nevada)|Walker]], [[Fallen Leaf Lake (California)|Fallen Leaf]], [[June Lake (California)|June]], Marlette, and Gull Lakes and the [[Truckee River]] in California and Nevada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/lahontannfhc/lnfh.html|title=The Lahontan National Fish Hatchery|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=2013-12-20|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064718/http://www.fws.gov/lahontannfhc/lnfh.html}}</ref> The hatchery produces about 300,000–400,000 Lahontan cutthroat trout fry annually. The [[Jackson National Fish Hatchery]] produces around 400,000 Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout (which is now known as an ecotype of the Yellowstone cutthroat) annually to support fisheries in Idaho and Wyoming.<ref name="Jackson-2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/jackson/production.htm |title=Jackson Species and Production |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |access-date=2013-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129200120/http://www.fws.gov/jackson/production.htm |archive-date=2014-11-29 }}</ref> The [[Leadville National Fish Hatchery]] produces 125,000–200,000 Snake River fine-spotted, greenback cutthroat and rainbow trout annually to support fishing in the [[Fryingpan River|Fryingpan]] and Arkansas River drainages and other Colorado waters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/leadville/production.htm|title=Leadville Species and & Production|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=2013-12-20|archive-date=2015-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701220005/http://www.fws.gov/leadville/production.htm}}</ref> The [[Bozeman National Fish Hatchery|Bozeman Fish Technology Center]], formerly a cutthroat trout fish hatchery in [[Bozeman, Montana]], plays a major role in the restoration of the greenback {{nowrap|(''O. v. stomias'')}} and Westslope cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. lewisi'')}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/bozemanfishtech/index.html|title=Bozeman Fish Technology Center|access-date=2013-12-20|archive-date=2015-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520145320/http://www.fws.gov/bozemanfishtech/index.html}}</ref>

==Population threats==
{{See also|Salmonid susceptibility to whirling disease}}
[[File:Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri 1904.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Colored drawing of Yellowstone cutthroat trout from 1904 book|Yellowstone cutthroat trout from ''Birds and Nature'', 1904]]
The historic native range of cutthroat trout has been reduced by [[overfishing]], urbanization and habitat loss due to mining, livestock grazing and logging. Population densities have been reduced and in some cases populations have disappeared though competition with non-native [[Brook trout|brook]], brown, lake and rainbow trout, [[kokanee salmon]], [[lake whitefish]] and [[Mysida|mysis shrimp]] which were introduced in the late 19th and early 20th&nbsp;centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Behnke|first1=Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Behnke|author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|title=Trout and Salmon of North America|publisher=The Free Press|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|pages=147–148|chapter=Cutthroat trout ''Oncorhynchus clarki''}}</ref> Scientists believe the westslope cutthroat trout will eventually be [[Local extinction|extirpated]] from the large lakes in Western Montana due to the [[trophic cascade]]s resulting from lake trout and mysis shrimp introductions.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Long-term Effects of a Trophic Cascade in a Large Lake Ecosystem | last1=Ellis | first1=Bonnie K. | last2=Stanford | first2=Jack A. | last3=Goodman | first3=Daniel | last4=Stafford | first4=Craig P. | last5=Gustafson | first5=Daniel L. | last6=Beauchamp | first6=David A. | last7=Chess | first7=Dale W. | last8=Craft | first8=James A. | last9=Deleray | first9=Mark A. | last10=Hansen | first10=Barry S. |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=108 |issue=3 |pages=1070–5 |date=2010-12-09 |url=http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/03/1013006108.full.pdf |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |access-date=2014-03-12 |bibcode=2011PNAS..108.1070E |doi=10.1073/pnas.1013006108|pmid=21199944 |pmc=3024674|doi-access=free }}</ref> The most serious current threats to several subspecies are [[Hybrid (biology)#Interspecific hybrids|interspecific breeding]] with introduced rainbow trout, creating hybrid cutbows, and intraspecific breeding with other introduced cutthroat trout subspecies. In the [[Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem]], the presence of lake trout {{nowrap|(''Salvelinus namaycush'')}} in [[Yellowstone Lake]] in Yellowstone National Park has caused a serious decline in Yellowstone cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. v. bouvierii'')}}.<ref name="YSLakeTrout">{{Cite journal |last=Koel |first=Todd M. |last2=Bigelow |first2=Patricia E. |last3=Doepke |first3=Philip D. |last4=Ertel |first4=Brian D. |last5=Mahony |first5=Daniel L. |date=Spring 2006 |title=Conserving Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout for the Future of the GYE |url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/YS14(2).pdf |journal=Yellowstone Science |publisher=National Park Service |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=20–28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921134445/http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/YS14%282%29.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2008 |access-date=2014-03-12}}</ref> Outbreaks of [[Myxobolus cerebralis|whirling disease]] in major spawning tributaries within the native ranges have also caused declines. Most subspecies of cutthroat trout are highly susceptible to whirling disease, although the Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout appears to be resistant to the parasite.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nickum|first=David|title=Whirling Disease in the United States|publisher=[[Trout Unlimited]]|url=http://whirlingdisease.montana.edu/pdfs/TU_Report_99.pdf|access-date=2014-03-01|date=January 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220510/http://whirlingdisease.montana.edu/pdfs/TU_Report_99.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>

===Interspecific and intraspecific breeding===
The most serious impact on the genetic purity of most cutthroat trout subspecies results from interspecific and intraspecific breeding resulting in hybrids that carry the [[gene]]s of both parents. In inland populations, the introduction of rainbow trout from hatchery stocks have resulted in cutbow hybrids that continue to diminish the genetic purity of many cutthroat trout subspecies. The introduction of hatchery-raised Yellowstone cutthroat trout into native ranges of other cutthroat trout subspecies, particularly the westslope cutthroat trout, has resulted in intraspecific breeding and diminished genetic purity of the westslope subspecies. As such, populations of genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout are very rare and localized in streams above barriers to upstream migrations by introduced species.<ref name=Halverson/> Fisheries biologist [[Robert J. Behnke]] attributes the extinction of the yellowfin cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. v. macdonaldi'')}} and Alvord cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. h. alvordensis'')}} subspecies to the introduction of non-native rainbow trout.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Behnke |first1=Robert J.|title=Trout and Salmon of North America|author2=Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator)|publisher=Free Press|location=New York|isbn=0-7432-2220-2|year=2002|pages=201–206, 221–224}}</ref>

===Decline of the Yellowstone subspecies===
[[File:AnglersYellowstone-Haynes1897.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Old photo of anglers with a lot of fish from Yellowstone Lake|Anglers at West Thumb, 1897, with a harvest of Yellowstone cutthroat trout]]

The population at the core of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout's native range, in Yellowstone Lake, declined significantly in the 1960s due to [[Overexploitation|overharvest]] of mature cutthroat trout by anglers, as well as overharvesting of eggs by hatcheries in the early 20th century. Managers implemented [[catch and release]], which required anglers to return their catches to the lake, and they terminated hatchery operations in the park, which allowed the cutthroat trout to recover.<ref name=ynpfishes>{{cite book|last1=Schullery|first1=Paul|author-link=Paul Schullery|author2=Varley, John D.|title=Yellowstone Fishes—Ecology, History, and Angling in the Park|publisher=Stackpole Books|location=Mechanicsburg, PA|year=1998|isbn=0-8117-2777-7|chapter=Wilderness Defined-The Evolution of an Ideal|pages=90–101}}</ref> Then, in 1994, park officials discovered [[lake trout]] {{nowrap|(''Salvelinus namaycush'')}} in Yellowstone Lake. Although lake trout were established in [[Shoshone Lake|Shoshone]], [[Lewis Lake (Wyoming)|Lewis]] and [[Heart Lake (Wyoming)|Heart]] Lakes in the Snake River drainage from U.S. government stocking operations in 1890, they were never officially introduced into the Yellowstone River drainage and their presence there is probably the result of accidental or illegal introductions.<ref>{{cite web|editor1=Varley, John D.|editor2= [[Paul Schullery|Schullery, Paul]]|work=The Yellowstone Lake Crisis: Confronting a Lake Trout Invasion |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/laketrout2.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011223740/http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/laketrout2.pdf|archive-date=October 11, 2006|year=1995|author1=Kaeding, Lynn R. |author2= Boltz, Glenn D. |author3= Carty, Daniel G.|access-date=2014-03-01|title=Lake Trout Discovered In Yellowstone Lake |pages=5–6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kendall|first=W. C.|title=The Fishes of the Yellowstone National Park|publisher=Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries|location=Washington D.C.|pages=22–23|year=1921}}</ref> By 2000, the cutthroat trout population had declined to less than 10&nbsp;percent of its early 20th century abundance. However, aggressive lake trout [[Culling#Wildlife|eradication programs]] have killed over 1 million lake trout since 1996, and the hope is that this will lead to a restoration of cutthroat numbers.<ref name=YSLakeTrout/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ypf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6562&news_iv_ctrl=1061|title=Lake Trout Suppression and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Recovery: It's About More than Just Fish|access-date=2013-12-23|publisher=Yellowstone Park Foundation|quote=First 15 Years: 500,000 lake trout caught and eliminated. 2011 and 2012: 525,000 lake trout caught and eliminated 2013: 172,000 in the first six weeks of the season.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110033/http://www.ypf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6562&news_iv_ctrl=1061|archive-date=2013-12-24}}</ref> Cutthroat trout co-exist with lake trout in [[Heart Lake (Wyoming)|Heart Lake]], an isolated back-country lake at the head of the [[Heart River (Wyoming)|Heart River]] that gets little angling pressure.<ref>{{cite book |last=Parks|first=Richard |title=Fishing Yellowstone National Park-An Angler's Complete Guide to more than 100 streams, rivers and lakes|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|location=Guildford, CT|pages=107–108|isbn=0-7627-2285-1|year=2003|edition=2nd}}</ref>

==Angling==
{{See also|Artisan fishing|Recreational fishing}}
[[File:Cutthroat east canyon record.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo of man hold a very large trout|This {{convert|31.5|in|cm|adj=on}} cutthroat trout set a new Utah state record. As of March&nbsp;26, 2011, it was the largest cutthroat trout ever caught and released in Utah.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.utahwildlifephotos.com/Fish-fishing/Lakes-and-reservoirs/3661660_qRCFXx#!i=1294000117&k=dT7f6nt&lb=1&s=O|title=Curtis Robinson shows the huge cutthroat trout|publisher=Utah Wildlife Photos|access-date=2014-01-03}}</ref>]]
Cutthroat trout are prized as a gamefish, particularly by fly anglers. They are regulated as a gamefish in every state and province they occur in. From the Yellowstone cutthroat trout fishery in Yellowstone National Park,<ref name=ynpfishes/><ref>{{cite book|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951d01956560u;view=1up;seq=80|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140130223511/http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951d01956560u;view=1up;seq=80|archive-date=2014-01-30|title=Yellowstone: a natural and human history|author=Wallace, David Rains|publisher=National Park Service|location=Washington, D.C.|year=2001|page=78|isbn=0-912627-69-7|quote=...&nbsp;by the 1980s the lake's cutthroats were providing a world-class sport fishery for people as well as a vital food source for grizzlies&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Jacklin, Bob |author2=LaFontaine, Gary|title=Fly Fishing the Yellowstone in the Park|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|location=Guilford, CT|page=110|isbn=1-59228-076-5|year=2004|quote=The Yellowstone River is known widely for two things: The Spectacular Yellowstone Falls and a few miles of world-class dry-fly fishing for native cutthroat trout.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeVGvgAACAAJ|title=The Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide| last=Mathews | first=Craig | last2=Molinero | first2=Clayton|publisher=The Globe Pequot Press|location=Guilford, CT|isbn=1-55821-545-X|page=11|quote=In 1994 Yellowstone Park official introduced a fee permit policy to help pay the increased cost of protecting and enhancing this world-class fishery.|year=1997}}</ref> the unique Lahontan cutthroat trout fishery in Pyramid Lake in Nevada, and the small stream fisheries of the westslope cutthroat trout to saltwater angling for sea-run cutthroat trout on the Pacific coast,<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson|first=Les|title=Fly-Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout: Flies, Techniques, Conservation |publisher=Frank Amato Publishers|location=Portland, OR|year=2004|isbn=978-1-57188-334-6}}</ref> cutthroat trout are a popular quarry for trout anglers throughout their ranges. The all-tackle world record is {{convert|41|lbs|kg|abbr=on}} caught in Pyramid Lake in December 1925.<ref name=IGFA>{{cite web|url=http://wrec.igfa.org/WRecordsList.aspx?lc=AllTackle&cn=Trout,%20cutthroat|title=Trout, Cutthroat (''Oncorhynchus clarki'')|publisher=International Game Fish Association|access-date=2013-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191645/http://wrec.igfa.org/WRecordsList.aspx?lc=AllTackle&cn=Trout,%20cutthroat|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref> Their propensity to feed on aquatic and terrestrial insects make them an ideal quarry for the fly angler.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McClane|first1=A. J.|author2=Gardner, Keith|title=McClane's Game Fish of North America|chapter=Cutthroat Trout Salmo clarki|publisher=Times Books|location=New York|year=1984|isbn=0-8129-1134-2|pages=94–100}}</ref>

===Sea-run fishing along the Pacific Coast===
From Alaska to Northern California, coastal cutthroat trout in sea-run, resident stream and lacustrine forms are sought by anglers. [[Puget Sound]] in Washington is a stronghold of sea-run cutthroat trout fishing with its many tributaries and protected saltwater inlets and beaches. Fly anglers search for sea-run cutthroat trout along beaches, river mouths and estuaries year round. In the lower reaches of larger rivers, anglers in [[drift boat]]s float the rivers searching for trout along the wooded shorelines.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson|first=Les |title=Fly-Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout: Flies, Techniques, Conservation|publisher=Frank Amato Publishers|location=Portland, OR|year=2004|isbn=978-1-57188-334-6 |chapter=Coastal Cutthroat Trout in Washington|pages=45–55}}</ref> In addition to a cutthroat trout sport fishery managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Federal Subsistence Management Program<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doi.gov/subsistence/board/index.cfm |title=Federal Subsistence Board |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture|access-date=2014-03-04}}</ref> manages coastal cutthroat trout [[Artisan fishing|subsistence]] fisheries in Southeast Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/columbiariver/cctsym/ppt/ppt6.pdf|title=The Status and Management of Coastal Cutthroat Trout in Alaska|publisher=Alaska Department of Fish and Game|access-date=2014-03-03}}</ref>
{{clear}}

===Yellowstone fishery===
[[File:Fishing Bridge ca 1951 YNP.JPG|thumb|alt=Black and White photo of Fishing bridge ca 1951 in Yellowstone National Park |Fishing Bridge ca. 1951 in Yellowstone National Park<ref>{{cite book |title= Nature and Culture at Fishing Bridge-A History of the Fishing Bridge Development in Yellowstone National Park |author=Schullery, Paul|author-link=Paul Schullery|publisher= National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming|year=2010 |url=http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/sites/default/files/Fishing%20Bridge%20History%20low%205-7-10.pdf|page=54|chapter=World War II and Mission 66 at Fishing Bridge|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306012957/http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/upload/Fishing_Bridge_History_web_full.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-06|access-date=2016-11-09}}</ref>]]
{{See also|Angling in Yellowstone National Park}}
[[Yellowstone National Park]] was established in 1872. By the 1890s, the Yellowstone cutthroat trout fishery in the [[Yellowstone River]] and Yellowstone Lake were well known and being promoted in national guidebooks.
<small>{{blockquote| Fishing Grounds.—In the river at the lake outlet are the fishing grounds, about a mile from the hotel, while at many places between the lake and canyon excellent fishing is had from shore. The best results in the outlet are had from row boats; they can be rented from the steamboat company who have a supply, as well as competent and experienced oarsmen. Not more than two can successfully fish from one boat. When the grounds are reached, have the oarsman occupy the "stern," as from this position he can manipulate the landing net to a better advantage, the anchor is attached to the "bow." During the trout season (July to September), no better fishing can be found. They average about one and one-half pounds each and are of the salmon myhiss [sic] variety—a catch of 100, three or four hours before sundown, is not unfrequent.| A. B. Guptill, ''Haynes Guide to Yellowstone Park'' (1896)<ref>{{cite book|title= Nature and Culture at Fishing Bridge-A History of the Fishing Bridge Development in Yellowstone National Park|author=Schullery, Paul|author-link=Paul Schullery|publisher=National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming|year=2010 |url=http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/sites/default/files/Fishing%20Bridge%20History%20low%205-7-10.pdf|pages=15–16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306012957/http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/upload/Fishing_Bridge_History_web_full.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-06|access-date=2016-11-09}}</ref>}}</small>
In 1902, anticipating the completion of the east entrance road from Cody, Wyoming, Captain [[Hiram M. Chittenden]] supervised the construction of the first "Fishing Bridge" across the outlet of Yellowstone Lake.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nature and Culture at Fishing Bridge-A History of the Fishing Bridge Development in Yellowstone National Park|author=Schullery, Paul |author-link=Paul Schullery|publisher= National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming|year=2010 |url=http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/sites/default/files/Fishing%20Bridge%20History%20low%205-7-10.pdf|chapter=The Cody Road and First Bridge|pages=17–23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306012957/http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/upload/Fishing_Bridge_History_web_full.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-06|access-date=2016-11-09}}</ref> Fishing Bridge was rebuilt in 1919, and reconstructed in
1937, primarily to accommodate vehicle traffic. Between 1916 and 1931, a large development of campgrounds, cabins, stores and service facilities were built just east of the bridge to support anglers. This area is now known as the Fishing Bridge Historic District.<ref>{{cite book |title= Nature and Culture at Fishing Bridge-A History of the Fishing Bridge Development in Yellowstone National Park |author=Schullery, Paul|author-link=Paul Schullery|publisher= National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming|year=2010 |url=http://www.greateryellowstonescience.org/sites/default/files/Fishing%20Bridge%20History%20low%205-7-10.pdf|pages=25–50|chapter=The Development of the Fishing Bridge Area, 1918–1941|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306012957/http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/upload/Fishing_Bridge_History_web_full.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-06|access-date=2016-11-09}}</ref> The 1937 bridge boasted pedestrian walkways on either side of the roadway to give more room to anglers. Angling in the river, at Fishing Bridge and in the lake, boomed during the 1950s and 1960s and over harvest caused a significant decline in the fishery. Consequently, in 1973, fishing was no longer permitted from Fishing Bridge.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Franke |first=Mary Ann |date=Winter 1997 |title=A Grand Experiment—The Tide Turns in the 1950s: Part II |journal=Yellowstone Science |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=9 |url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/vol5-1.pdf |access-date=2014-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312205328/http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/vol5-1.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>

===Pyramid Lake Lahontan subspecies fishery===
[[File:Pyramid Lake Lahontan Cutthroat Fishery.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Photo of angler on ladder in lake|Angler fishing for Lahontan cutthroat trout in [[Pyramid Lake (Nevada)|Pyramid Lake]]]]
The Pyramid Lake strain of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, source of the {{convert|41|lbs|adj=on}} world record and native to Pyramid Lake, [[Lake Tahoe]] and the Truckee River, was brought to near-extinction in the two decades between the 1920s-40s from overharvest, introduced species and loss of spawning habitat. In the 1970s, Pyramid Lake was stocked with Lahontan cutthroat trout strains still surviving in some nearby lakes, but they were not the large Pyramid Lake strain. Although the [[Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation|Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.plpt.nsn.us/plpt.html |title=Pyramid Paiute Tribe: About Us |access-date=April 22, 2018 |archive-date=August 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807125639/http://plpt.nsn.us/plpt.html }}</ref> had been successful in re-establishing a cutthroat trout fishery on the reservation in Pyramid Lake, the cutthroat trout were not the large fish of the late 19th and early 20th century. In the late 1970, biologists discovered a surviving population of a pure Pyramid Lake strain in a small headwaters stream on the Nevada-Utah border that had at some point around 1900 been introduced into the stream. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began rearing these fish in the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/lahontannfhc/lnfh.html|title=Lahontan National Fish Hatchery|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=April 22, 2018|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064718/http://www.fws.gov/lahontannfhc/lnfh.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pyramidlakefisheries.org/about.html |title=About Pyramid Lake Fish Hatcheries |website=pyramidlakefisheries.org |access-date=April 22, 2018 |archive-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022083546/http://www.pyramidlakefisheries.org/about.html }}</ref> in [[Gardnerville, Nevada]]. In 2006, the Pyramid Lake strain of Lahontan cutthroat trout were reintroduced into the lake.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/us/lahontan-cutthroat-trout-make-a-comeback.html?_r=0|title=20 Pounds? Not Too Bad, for an Extinct Fish |work=The New York Times |author=Schweber, Nate|date=2013-04-23|access-date=2014-03-03}}</ref> As Pyramid Lake has a very shallow shoreline, anglers use ladders to stand comfortably in {{convert|3|to|4|ft|m|1}} of water and cast to trout cruising along shoreline breaks. Considered a "world-class" fishery, anglers routinely catch cutthroat trout exceeding {{convert|10|lbs|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pyramidlakefisheries.org/|title=Pyramid Lake Fisheries|publisher=Pyramid Lake Fisheries.org|access-date=2014-03-03 |quote=Pyramid Lake is widely regarded as a world class fishery for the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout.}}</ref>

==As a symbol==
The cutthroat trout is the [[state fish]] of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, while particular subspecies of cutthroat are the state fish of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
* Idaho<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.idaho.gov/elect/emblem.htm |title=Idaho State Emblems |publisher=Idaho Secretary of State |access-date=2013-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313090503/http://www.sos.idaho.gov/ELECT/Emblem.htm |archive-date=2012-03-13 }}</ref> Montana<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/1/1/1-1-507.htm|title=Montana Code Annotated 2013 State Fish|publisher=Montana Legislature|access-date=2013-12-23|archive-date=2016-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305024221/http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/1/1/1-1-507.htm}}</ref> and Wyoming<ref>{{cite web |url=http://soswy.state.wy.us/Information/StateInfo_Symbols.aspx |title=State Symbols |publisher=Wyoming Secretary of State |access-date=2013-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224102635/http://soswy.state.wy.us/Information/StateInfo_Symbols.aspx |archive-date=2013-12-24 }}</ref>–Cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. clarki'')}}
* Colorado–Greenback cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. v. stomias'')}}
* Nevada<ref>{{cite web |url=http://leg.state.nv.us/general/nvfacts/index.cfm|title=Nevada Facts and State Emblems |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327054558/http://www.leg.state.nv.us/General/NVFacts/index.cfm |archive-date=2014-03-27 |publisher=Nevada Legislature}}</ref>–Lahontan cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. h. henshawi'')}}
* New Mexico<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Kids_Corner/State_Symbols.aspx#fish|title=State Symbols|publisher=New Mexico Secretary of State|access-date=2013-12-23|archive-date=2018-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707234719/http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Kids_Corner/State_Symbols.aspx#fish}}</ref>–Rio Grande cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. v. virginalis'')}}
* Utah<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fish.html |title=Utah State Fish&nbsp;— Bonneville Cutthroat Trout |publisher=Pioneer Utah's Online Library |access-date=2013-12-23 |archive-date=2012-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114180735/http://pioneer.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/fish.html }}</ref>–Bonneville cutthroat trout {{nowrap|(''O. v. utah'')}}

==References==
{{Reflist|22em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Barron |first=Terry |title=Guide to Fly Fishing Pyramid Lake A Quick Clear Understanding of the Nations Top Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Fishery |year=1998 |publisher=No Nonsense Fly Fishing Guidebooks |location=Tucson, AZ |isbn=978-0-9637256-3-9}}
* {{cite web |url=http://fishbull.noaa.gov/58-1/cope.pdf |title=Annotated Bibliography on the Cutthroat Trout-Fishery Bulletin 140 |author=Oliver B. Cope |year=1958 |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |access-date=2014-01-07}}
* {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Les |title=Sea-run Cutthroat Trout |publisher=Frank Amato Publishers |location=Portland, OR |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-936608-02-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Les |title=Fly-Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout: Flies, Techniques, Conservation |publisher=Frank Amato Publishers |location=Portland, OR |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57188-334-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rubingh |first1=Jim |author2=Fritz, Richard |title=Colorado Greenback Cutthroat Trout: A Fisherman's Guide |publisher=Frank Amato Publishers |location=Portland, OR |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-57188-447-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Trotter |first=Patrick C. |title=Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |year=2008 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-520-25458-9}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Oncorhynchus clarkii}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Oncorhynchus clarkii}}
* {{cookbook-inline|Trout}}
* [http://www.itinerantangler.com/blog/podcasts/2014/02/12/all-the-fish-in-the-world-with-dr-dave-neely/ Dr. Dave Neely podcast (includes discussion of cutthroat trout diversity)]

{{Cutthroat trout}}
{{Trouts}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2717060}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Oncorhynchus]]
[[Category:Cold water fish]]
[[Category:Fish of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Fish of Canada]]
[[Category:Fish of the Western United States]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of North America]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of the United States]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Northwestern United States]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:Fauna of California]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Rocky Mountains]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States)]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1836]]
[[Category:Symbols of Wyoming]]
[[Category:Fish common names]]