Paiute cutthroat trout
| Paiute cutthroat trout | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Salmoniformes |
| Family: | Salmonidae |
| Genus: | Oncorhynchus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | O. h. seleniris |
| Trinomial name | |
| Oncorhynchus henshawi seleniris (John O. Snyder, 1933) | |
Paiute cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus henshawi seleniris) are a subspecies of Lahontan cutthroat trout. In 2023 the American Fisheries Society Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 8th edition reclassified all Cutthroat Trout from one species (formerly, Oncorhynchus clarkii) into four distinct species: Coastal, Lahontan, Westslope, and Rocky Mountain Cutthroat Trout. The Paiute Cutthroat retained their trinomial designation as a subspecies (seleniris), but as a subspecies of the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus henshawi). Paiute Cutthroat are native only to Silver King Creek, a headwater tributary of the Carson River in the Sierra Nevada, in California. This subspecies is named after the indigenous Northern Paiute peoples.
Paiute cutthroat trout are endemic to and protected within the Carson Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The Carson River lies within the Great Basin interior drainage system, within the historic range of Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus henshawi).
The biggest threats facing Paiute cutthroats include hybridization, nonnative fish, livestock grazing, and habitat fragmentation. Since most Paiute cutthroats are completely isolated, there is no genetic flow causing inbreeding, which leads to accelerated levels of extinction.