Fish of Alberta

Question 1

Lake Sturgeon

Answer 1

Bottom-dwelling, Bottom-feeding
- Flat snout, barbels, ventral mouth, heterocercal tail, leather like tissue, 5 rows of bony plates
- Formerly in large rivers and lake, now increasingly rare
Live up to 100 years, spawn at age 15 in late spring

Question 2

Westslope Cutthroat

Answer 2

Native to Bow and Oldman drainages
Orange/Red cutthroat mark under jaw
No rosy band along lateral line
True Trout, relatively clear of spots below lateral line between pectoral and pelvic fins
Pure populations introduced high mountain lakes in AB
Spring Spawner

Question 3

Yellowstone Cutthroat

Answer 3

Introduced
Typical Cutthroat markng
Yellowish-brown or golden colour
- Sparse, large round black spots evenly distributed above and below lateral line, more abundant toward tail

Question 4

Rainbow Trout

Answer 4

Native to upper Athabaska drainage, introduced elsewhere
Small, irregular black spots evenly distributed over sides above and below lateral line
Rosy band along lateral line, no cutthroat marks
Native trout wiped out by habitat degradation and overfishing
Spring spawner