Coregonus

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Coregonus
Lake whitefish1.jpg
Lake whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae
Subfamily: Coregoninae
Genus: Coregonus
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Coregonus lavaretus
Species

Nearly 70 extant members

Coregonus is a diverse genus of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae). The Coregonus species are known as whitefishes. The genus contains at least 68 described extant taxa, but the true number of species is a matter of debate. The type species of the genus is Coregonus lavaretus .

Contents

Most Coregonus species inhabit lakes and rivers, and several species, including the Arctic cisco (C. autumnalis), the Bering cisco (C. laurettae), and the least cisco (C. sardinella) are anadromous, moving between salt water and fresh water.

Many whitefish species or ecotypes, especially from the Great Lakes and the Alpine lakes of Europe, have gone extinct over the past century or are endangered. Among 12 freshwater fish considered extinct in Europe, 6 are Coregonus. [1] All Coregonus species are protected under appendix III of the Bern Convention, [2] and Annex IV of the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) [3]

Taxonomy

Phylogenetic evidence indicates that the most basal member of the genus is the highly endangered Atlantic whitefish (C. huntsmani), which is endemic to a single river basin in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Atlantic whitefish is thought to have diverged from the rest of the genus during the mid-Miocene, about 15 million years ago. [4] [5]

The genus was previously subdivided into two subgenera Coregonus ("true whitefishes") and Leucichthys ("ciscoes"), Coregonus comprising taxa with sub-terminal mouth and usually a benthic feeding habit, Leucichthys those with terminal or supra-terminal mouth and usually a pelagic plankton-feeding habit. This classification is not natural however: based on molecular data, ciscoes comprise two distinct lineages within the genus. Moreover, the genus Stenodus is not phylogenetically distinct from Coregonus; although Stenodus occupies a basal position within the genus, phylogenetic evidence indicates that C. huntsmani is even more basal than it. [5] [6]

The scientific name given to this genus of fish comes from the Greek κόρη (kórē) "daughter ; eye pupil" and γωνία (gōnía) "angle", [7] because their pupil makes an angle, even though they share this feature with a large number of other fish.

Species diversity

There is much uncertainty and confusion in the classification of the many species of this genus. Particularly, one extreme view of diversity recognises just two main species in Northern and Central Europe, the common whitefish C. lavaretus and the vendace C. albula, whereas others would divide these into numerous, often narrowly distributed species. A drastic increase in number of recognized species occurred in 2007, when a review advocated that more than 50 local European populations should be considered as distinct based on morphological differences. [8] It has been estimated that several of them are very young, having separated from each other less than 15,000 years ago. [9] Many of these were primarily defined based on number of gill rakers. Although this largely is hereditary, the number is highly variable (even within single populations and species), can change relatively fast in response to changes and genetic studies have shown that they often are of limited use in predicting relationships among populations (a large difference in gill raker number does not necessarily equal a distant relationship). [10] [11] [12] Genetic differences between several of the recently proposed species, even ones that are relatively distinct morphologically, are very limited and sometimes they are not monophyletic. [10] [11] Various Coregonus, whether regarded as separate species or not, readily interbreed with each other. [13] A review of whitefish in the United Kingdom found that the identification key provided in 2007 did not match most individuals and that solid evidence for more than one species in that region is lacking. [14]

Many European lakes have more than one Coregonus morph differing in ecology and morphology (especially gill rakers). [15] Such morphs are sometimes partially reproductively isolated from each other, leading to suggestions of recognizing them as separate but clinal species. [9] The morphs or clinal species may rapidly disappear (in 15 years or less, equalling three Coregonus generations) by merging into a single in response to changes in the habitat. [15] A similar pattern can be seen in North America where the ciscoes of the Coregonus artedi complex in the Great Lakes and elsewhere comprise several, often co-occurring morphs or ecotypes, whose taxonomic status remains controversial. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Species

In 2017, FishBase listed 78 species, including the more than 50 proposed for Europe in 2007. [20] Some of these are recently extinct (marked with a dagger, "†") and C. reighardi is likely extinct. [8] [18]

Cisco or lake herring, Coregonus artedi Cisco.jpg
Cisco or lake herring, Coregonus artedi
Bloater, Coregonus hoyi Coregonushoyi.jpg
Bloater, Coregonus hoyi
Common whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus (sensu lato) Coregonus lavaretus maraena 1.jpg
Common whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus (sensu lato)
Coregonus nelsonii Coregonus nelsonii.jpg
Coregonus nelsonii
Coregonus pidschian Coregonus pidschian cropped.jpg
Coregonus pidschian

Related Research Articles

<i>Coregonus lavaretus</i> Species of fish

Coregonus lavaretus is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of its genus Coregonus.

<i>Stenodus leucichthys</i> Species of fish

Stenodus leucichthys, also known as the inconnu, sheefish, ak balyk, or beloribitsa, is a species of large, anadromous, freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. In the strict sense its natural distribution is restricted to the Caspian Sea basin. It is now considered extinct in the wild, but survives in cultured stocks. The nelma, a more widespread species of Eurasia and North America, is sometimes considered its subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cisco (fish)</span> Group of fishes

The ciscoes are salmonid fish that differ from other members of the genus Coregonus in having upper and lower jaws of approximately equal length and high gill raker counts. These species have been the focus of much study recently, as researchers have sought to determine the relationships among species that appear to have evolved very recently. Cisco is also specifically used for the North American species Coregonus artedi, also known as lake herring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackfin cisco</span> Species of fish

The blackfin cisco was a North American salmonid fish in the freshwater whitefish sub-family Coregoninae. This silvery, deep-bodied fish with black fins, large eyes, a blunt snout and a terminal mouth, was one of the largest forms of ciscoes. The blackfin cisco used to inhabit the Great Lakes of North America until recently, but has been reported to have gone extinct. The blackfin cisco is a member of the C. artedi complex, whose taxonomy has not yet been resolved, and it may not represent a valid species.

<i>Coregonus albula</i> Species of fish

Coregonus albula, known as the vendace or as the European cisco, is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is found in lakes in northern Europe, especially Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Russia and Estonia, and in some lakes of Norway, the United Kingdom, northern Germany, and Poland. It is also found in diluted brackish water in the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia, both of which are in the Baltic Sea.

<i>Coregonus sardinella</i> Species of fish

Coregonus sardinella, known as the least cisco or the sardine cisco, is a fresh- and brackishwater salmonid fish that inhabits rivers, estuaries and coastal waters of the marginal seas of the Arctic Basin, as well as some large lakes of those areas.

The schelly is a living fresh water fish of the salmon family, endemic to four lakes in the Lake District, England. Its taxonomy is disputed with some recognizing it as a distinct species and others as a variant of the widespread Eurasian whitefish species Coregonus lavaretus. It is present in Brothers Water, Haweswater, Red Tarn and Ullswater, and the population seems stable in all of these except for Haweswater where it seems to be declining. The main threats it faces are seen to be water abstraction and cormorants, and the fish-eating birds are being culled from Haweswater. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the conservation status of this fish as "endangered".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic whitefish</span> Species of fish

The Atlantic whitefish is a coregonine fish inhabiting some freshwater lakes within Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known to survive only in the Petite Rivière watershed as landlocked populations. Earlier it was also found in the Tusket and Annis rivers of Nova Scotia. Those populations were anadromous, migrating to the estuary to feed while breeding in freshwater.

Stenodus is a genus of large-sized whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It consists of two species; one of them (beloribitsa) is extinct in the wild. The two species have alternatively been considered subspecies of the single species Stenodus leucichthys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freshwater whitefish</span> Subfamily of fishes

The freshwater whitefish are fishes of the subfamily Coregoninae, which contains whitefishes and ciscoes, and is one of three subfamilies in the salmon family Salmonidae. Apart from the subfamily Coregoninae, the family Salmonidae includes the salmon, trout, and char species of the subfamily Salmoninae, and grayling species of the subfamily Thymallinae. Freshwater whitefish are distributed mainly in relatively cool waters throughout the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

<i>Coregonus artedi</i> Species of fish

Coregonus artedi, commonly known as the cisco, is a North American species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. The number of species and definition of species limits in North American ciscoes is a matter of debate. Accordingly, Coregonus artedi may refer either in a narrow sense to one of the several types of cisco found e.g. in the Great Lakes, or in a broad sense to the complex of all ciscoes in continental North American lakes, Coregonus artedi sensu lato.

Coregonus fontanae, also known as the Stechlin cisco, Fontane cisco, or Fontane's cisco, is a putative species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae endemic to the Großer Stechlinsee in northern Germany. It is believed to have recently evolved from the sympatric vendace, Coregonus albula.

<i>Coregonus maraena</i> Species of fish

Coregonus maraena, referred to in English as the maraene, maraena whitefish, vendace, cisco, lake herring, lake whitefish or the whitefish, is a whitefish of the family Salmonidae that occurs in the Baltic Sea basin - in the sea itself and the inflowing rivers, and in several lakes as landlocked populations. It is found in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and Sweden. As of 2013, it has been listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN and as endangered by HELCOM. It is an extremely important fish within the Baltic Sea ecosystem, both for population equilibrium and for the local diets of the surrounding human population. Due to a variety of factors, mostly overfishing, the maraena's population dwindled to near-extinction levels. Thus, rampant repopulation was enacted to preserve this important fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peipsi whitefish</span> Species of fish

The Peipsi whitefish is a freshwater whitefish of the family Salmonidae that naturally occurs in Lake Peipus on the border of Estonia and Russia, from where it also ascends to Lake Võrtsjärv to spawn. It has been introduced in Lake Burtnieks (Latvia), Gulf of Riga, many lakes of northern Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Lake Sevan (Armenia) and Balkash (Kazakhstan). It is a benthopelagic fish up to 60 cm long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ives Lake cisco</span> Species of fish

The Ives Lake cisco is a freshwater whitefish known to inhabit a single inland lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The species was last observed in 1983, although there is disagreement on whether it is distinct from Coregonus artedi. This taxon has been found only in Ives Lake, a lake in the Huron Mountains. The lake encompasses a radius of less than 1.5 miles (2.4 km).

<i>Coregonus widegreni</i> Species of fish

Coregonus widegreni, also called the Valaam whitefish, is a putative species of freshwater whitefish, a part of the common whitefish complex from Northern Europe. It is a demersal form of freshwater whitefish that feeds on benthic invertebrates. It spawns in late autumn, and can reach a length of 55 cm maximum. It is characterized by a low gill raker density.

Coregonus nilssoni is a putative species of whitefish, part of the Coregonus lavaretus complex. It is a pelagic fish feeding on zooplankton. Its distribution is in lakes of Sweden, southern Norway, Denmark and Poland.

Coregonus pallasii is a putative species of whitefish in the family Salmonidae, part of the Coregonus lavaretus complex.

Coregonus zugensis, also known as the Swiss whitefish, is a freshwater species of fish of the subfamily Coregoninae which is found in Europe lakes of Lucerne and Zug. However, in a recent study, it was found that the species had been extirpated from Lake Zug.

Coregonus candidus, locally known as shiny whitefish, is a freshwater species of fish of the genus coregonus, which is also known as whitefish, found in the Lake Neuchâtel and Bienne of Switzerland. The fish is classified as vulnerable according to the IUCN standard due to overfishing and improper management of the water body.

References

  1. ↑ Closs GP, Krkosek M, Olden JD, eds. (2016). Conservation of Freshwater Fishes. Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN   978-1-107-04011-3.
  2. ↑ Council of Europe, 1979. Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Heritage. Bern, Switzerland. Available at: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/104.htm
  3. ↑ "Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992". Eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  4. ↑ Whitelaw J (2015). Atlantic whitefish (Coregonus huntsmani) culture handbook. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Science Branch, Maritimes Region. ISBN   978-0-660-02539-1. OCLC   980875338.
  5. 1 2 Crête-Lafrenière A, Weir LK, Bernatchez L (2012-10-05). "Framing the Salmonidae family phylogenetic portrait: a more complete picture from increased taxon sampling". PLOS ONE. 7 (10): e46662. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...746662C. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046662 . PMC   3465342 . PMID   23071608.
  6. ↑ Bernatchez L, Colombani F, Dodson JJ (December 1991). "Phylogenetic relationships among the subfamily Coregoninae as revealed by mitochondrial DNA restriction analysis" (PDF). Journal of Fish Biology. 39: 283–290. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1991.tb05091.x.
  7. ↑ "Coregonus nilssoni Valenciennes, 1848". FishBase. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  8. 1 2 Kottelat M, Freyhof J (2007). Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. Cornol, Switzerland: Publications Kottelat. ISBN   978-2-8399-0298-4.
  9. 1 2 Hudson AG, Lundsgaard-Hansen B, Lucek K, Vonlanthen P, Seehausen O (March 2017). "Managing cryptic biodiversity: Fine-scale intralacustrine speciation along a benthic gradient in Alpine whitefish (Coregonus spp.)". Evolutionary Applications. 10 (3): 251–266. doi:10.1111/eva.12446. PMC   5322408 . PMID   28250810.
  10. 1 2 Østbye K, Bernatchez L, Naesje TF, Himberg KJ, Hindar K (December 2005). "Evolutionary history of the European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) species complex as inferred from mtDNA phylogeography and gill-raker numbers". Molecular Ecology. 14 (14): 4371–4387. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02737.x. PMID   16313599. S2CID   21487510.
  11. 1 2 Jacobsen MW, Hansen MM, Orlando L, Bekkevold D, Bernatchez L, Willerslev E, Gilbert MT (June 2012). "Mitogenome sequencing reveals shallow evolutionary histories and recent divergence time between morphologically and ecologically distinct European whitefish (Coregonus spp.)". Molecular Ecology. 21 (11): 2727–2742. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05561.x. PMID   22509795. S2CID   4499697.
  12. ↑ Ozerov MY, Himberg M, Aykanat T, Sendek DS, Hägerstrand H, Verliin A, et al. (May 2015). "Generation of a neutral FST baseline for testing local adaptation on gill raker number within and between European whitefish ecotypes in the Baltic Sea basin". Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 28 (5): 1170–1183. doi: 10.1111/jeb.12645 . PMID   25877003. S2CID   13189069.
  13. ↑ "Maraena Whitefish (Coregonus maraena)" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife. 2017 [2011]. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Etheridge EC, Adams CE, Bean CW, Durie NC, Gowans AR, Harrod C, et al. (February 2012). "Are phenotypic traits useful for differentiating among a priori Coregonus taxa?". Journal of Fish Biology. 80 (2): 387–407. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03189.x . PMID   22268437.
  15. 1 2 Bhat S, Amundsen PA, Knudsen R, Gjelland KØ, Fevolden SE, Bernatchez L, Præbel K (2014). "Speciation reversal in European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus (L.)) caused by competitor invasion". PLOS ONE. 9 (3): e91208. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...991208B. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091208 . PMC   3953381 . PMID   24626131.
  16. ↑ Turgeon J, Estoup A, Bernatchez L (December 1999). "Species Flock in the North American Great Lakes: Molecular Ecology of Lake Nipigon Ciscoes (Teleostei: Coregonidae: Coregonus)". Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution. 53 (6): 1857–1871. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1999.tb04568.x . PMID   28565465. S2CID   12144534.
  17. ↑ Turgeon J, Bernatchez L (January 2003). "Reticulate evolution and phenotypic diversity in North American ciscoes, Coregonus ssp.(Teleostei: Salmonidae): implications for the conservation of an evolutionary legacy". Conservation Genetics. 4 (1): 67–81. doi:10.1023/A:1021860910719. S2CID   35532451.
  18. 1 2 Eshenroder RL, Vecsei P, Gorman OT, Yule D, Pratt TC, Mandrak NE, et al. (Great Lakes Fishery Commission) (2016). Ciscoes (Coregonus, subgenus Leucichthys) of the Laurentian Great Lakes and Lake Nipigon (Report). United States Geological Survey.
  19. ↑ Boguski DA, Murray L, Pratt TC, Johnson JD, Reist JD (January 2014). Patterns of Morphological Diversity in Ciscoes Distributed Within Three of Manitoba's Glacial Relict Lakes with Reference to Shortjaw Cisco (Coregonus Zenithicus) (PDF). Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat = Secrétariat canadien de consultation scientifique (Report).
  20. ↑ Froese R, Pauly D (eds.). "Species in genus Coregonus". FishBase . December 2017 version.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Selz OM, Dönz CJ, Vonlanthen P, Seehausen O (2020). "A taxonomic revision of the whitefish of lakes Brienz and Thun, Switzerland, with descriptions of four new species (Teleostei, Coregonidae)". ZooKeys (989): 79–162. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.989.32822 . PMC   7669820 . PMID   33223897.
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