BLACKSBURG, Va. – It’s undisputedly the oldest river on the continent, according to the NPCA, and arguably one of the oldest globally. There are eight endemic species of fish in the New River, which means they cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Dr. Emmanuel Frimpong of the Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation said the New River is not very specious in terms of species richness, so the ratio of the total number of native species to endemic species is very high.
The eight species are the Kanawha sculpin, Bluestone sculpin, Appalachia darter, Kanawha darter, candy darter, New River shiner, Kanawha minnow and the bigmouth chub, which is a double rare species.
They reproduce unlike almost any other species of fish.
Frimpong said they use their mouths to pick up rocks, making trips thousands of times over to create a pile of gravel on which to reproduce. Of the 40,000 species of fish globally, only about eight do this kind of reproduction. By doing that, they provide an arena for a whole lot of different species that also come over and spawn.
Species with this reproductive behavior can only be found in the eastern United States, but no better display of mutualism can be found.
Frimpong said this occurs in the New River in a more spectacular way. Across the entire country, about 40 minnows are known to do what is called nest association, but the New River alone has about 20 of these species.
Not only is the New River the heart of the valley, but despite a limited number of species, it remains an ecological marvel.