Lepidomeda aliciae (Jouy, 1881)
Southern leatherside chub
Lepidomeda aliciae
photo by Sandra J. Raredon / Smithsonian Institution, NMNH, Div. of Fishes

Family:  Leuciscidae (Minnows), subfamily: Plagopterinae
Max. size:  15 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  Norrth America: Utah Lake and Sevier river systems in Utah, USA; historically in Beaver River system, where it now appears to be extinct; possibly introduced into the Colorado River drainage.
Diagnosis:  Distinguished from its nearly identical species Lepidomedia copei by having shallower head, longer snout and fixed differences in several mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers (Ref. 86798).
Biology:  Inhabits sluggish pools and backwaters, usually over mud or sand, of creeks and small to medium rivers (Ref. 86798).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 28 February 2012 (B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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