Cyprinidae

Humpback chub

Gila cypha

High hump resists current

• Temperate
• Upper river
• Northern Hemisphere
• Regional distribution
• Freshwater fish
• North America
• Fusiform
• Medium
• Temperate fish

The humpback chub (Gila cypha) is a federally protected fish that lived originally in fast waters of the Colorado River system in the United States. This species takes its name from the prominent hump between the head and dorsal fin, which is thought to direct the flow of water over the body and help maintain body position in the swift currents of the Colorado River. The body is almost entirely scaleless, retaining only about 80 midlateral scales along the lateral line.