The California golden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita or Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita), is a species of trout native to California. The golden trout is normally found in the Golden Trout Creek (tributary to the Kern River), Volcano Creek (tributary to Golden Trout Creek), and the South Fork Kern River. The Golden trout is the official freshwater state fish of California since 1947. The California golden trout is closely related to two rainbow trout subspecies. The Little Kern golden trout (O. m. whitei), found in the Little Kern River basin, and the Kern River rainbow trout (O. m. gilberti), found in the Kern River system. Together, these three trout form what is sometimes referred to as the "golden trout complex". Taxonomy Originally the golden trout was described as a subspecies of the salmon species, with a name Salmo mykiss agua-bonita, and it is still often considered a subspecies (now called Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita) along with several other rainbow trout subspecies commonly known as redband trout. FishBase and the Catalog of Fishes however now (2014) list O. aguabonita as an independent species rather than as subspecies of O. mykiss. Likewise, while ITIS lists O. m. whitei and O. m. gilberti as subspecies of O. mykiss, O. aguabonita instead is listed as a full species. Description The golden trout has golden flanks with red, horizontal bands along the lateral lines on each side and about 10 dark, vertical, oval marks (called "parr marks") on each side. Dorsal, lateral and anal fins have white leading edges. In their native habitat, adults range from long. Fish over are considered large. Golden trout that have been transplanted to lakes have been recorded up to . The golden trout should be distinguished from the similarly named golden rainbow trout, also known as the palomino trout. The golden rainbow is a color variant of the rainbow trout. The golden trout is commonly found at elevations from to above sea level, and is native to California's southern Sierra Nevada mountains. Outside of its native range in California, Golden trout are more often found in cirques and creeks in wilderness areas around 10,500–12,000"+, often beyond 12,500"+ passes that are not passable without crampons, ice axes, and ropes until after the Fourth of July. Their preferred water temperature is but they can tolerate temperatures in degraded streams on the Kern Plateau as high as so long as those waters cool during the night.