COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) - Genetic testing has determined that cedar sculpin are present in the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe rivers in northern Idaho.
U.S. Forest Service biologist Michael Young tells The Spokesman-Review (https://bit.ly/1fzJ5L0 ) in a story on Thursday that for decades biologists thought the minnow-sized fish was the more common shorthead sculpin.
Young says scientists found small variations and sent samples to a lab in Missoula, Mont. He says identifying the fish was a combined effort between the Forest Service and the University of Montana.
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Sculpin are typically found in North America’s major river systems.
Young says cedar sculpin probably emerged as a distinct species thousands of years ago.
He says waterfalls on the Spokane River likely blocked fish passage and cut off intermingling with other sculpin.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, https://www.spokesman.com
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