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Pygmy Whitefish |
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Name and Code |
Family |
Salmonidae - trouts and salmons |
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Species |
Prosopium coulterii |
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Taxonomic Authority |
(Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1892) |
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Common Name(s) |
Pygmy Whitefish |
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French Name |
ménomini pygmée |
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Conservation Status |
Global Rank (GRank) |
G5 (2008-01-15) |
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National Rank (NRank) |
N21, N1N22 (2017-12-22) |
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Provincial Rank (SRank) |
SU (1997-10-10) |
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COSEWIC Status |
Threatened1, Data Deficient2 (Nov 2016) |
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SARO Status |
Not at Risk1, Data Deficient2 (2017) |
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Status Notes |
(1) Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence populations; (2) Saskatchewan-Nelson Rivers populations |
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Ecological Value |
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General Abundance |
limited distribution |
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Length-Weight Regression Coefficents |
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Habitat and Feeding |
General Habitat(s) |
lacustrine; riverine |
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Environment |
benthopelagic |
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Trophic Class |
invertivore |
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Habitat Preference |
cold, deep waters (18-90 m) of lakes, usually >30 m; preferred water temperature <10°C |
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Reproduction |
Reproductive Guild |
Nonguarders: Open substratum spawners: Lithophils |
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Spawning Habitat(s) |
lacustrine; riverine |
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Spawning Month(s) |
November-December |
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Spawning Temperature (°C) |
0.5-4 |
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Nursery Habitat(s) |
lacustrine |
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Size and Age |
Adult Length (cm) |
9.1-15.1 TL |
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Adult Weight (kg) |
0.004-0.023 |
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Age at Maturity (yrs) |
2 (m); 3 (f) |
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Maximum Length (cm) |
27.1 FL |
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Maximum Weight (kg) |
0.163 |
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Lifespan (yrs) |
5-7 (m); 7-9 (f) |
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Ontario Records |
Record Length (cm) |
14.2 TL |
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Ontario Range Map |
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Ontario Distribution |
Lake Superior, northwestern Ontario (Delaney Lake, Silver Lake, Winnange Lake, Mameigwess Lake) Saskatchewan - Nelson River basin |
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Photographs |
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Notes |
Lake Superior population discovered in 1952 is over 1,600 km outside the normal range (Pacific Northwest) |
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Information Sources |
Bailey, R.M., W.C. Latta, and G.R. Smith. 2004. An atlas of Michigan fishes with keys and illustrations for their identification. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications No. 192. iv + 215 pp. |
Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. Tolerance and trophic guilds of selected fish species. Appendix C in Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water. Washington, DC. |
Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. xii + 1052 pp. |
Carlander, K.D. 1969. Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Volume one. Life history data on freshwater fishes of the United States and Canada, exclusive of the Perciformes. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA. vi + 752 pp. |
Coad, B.W. with H. Waszczuk and I. Labignan. 1995. Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions. Ottawa and Waterdown, ON. viii + 928 pp. |
Coker, G.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 2001. Morphological and ecological characteristics of Canadian freshwater fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2554: iv + 89 p. |
COSEWIC. 2016. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Pygmy Whitefish Prosopium coulterii, Southwestern Yukon Beringian populations, Yukon River populations, Pacific populations, Western Arctic populations, Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations, Waterton Lake populations and Saskatchewan - Nelson Rivers populations in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. iv + 69 pp. |
COSEWIC. 2023. Canadian wildlife species at risk. October 2023. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Gatineau, QC. iv + 130 pp. |
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2550: v + 39 p. |
Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023. |
Goldstein, R.M. and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. Pages 123-202 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp. |
Goodyear, C.S., T.A. Edsall, D.M. Ormsby Dempsey, G.D. Moss, and P.E. Polanski. 1982. Atlas of the spawning and nursery areas of Great Lakes fishes. Volume thirteen: Reproductive characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, DC. FWS/OBS-82/52. |
Holm, E., N. Mandrak, and M. Burridge. 2021. A field guide to freshwater fishes of Ontario, second edition. Royal Ontario Museum Science Publication. Toronto, ON. 486 pp. |
Hubbs, C.L. and K.F. Lagler. 1964. Fishes of the Great Lakes region. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xv + 213 pp. |
Hubbs, C.L., K.F. Lagler, and G.R. Smith. 2004. Fishes of the Great Lakes region, revised edition. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xvii + 276 pp. |
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. On-line database. http://www.itis.gov, retrieved 02 May 2023. |
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Nursery habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2338: v + 42 p. |
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Adult habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2358: v + 43 p. |
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Spawning habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2368: v + 48 p. |
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History Publication 1980-12. Raleigh, NC. x + 867 pp. |
Mandrak, N.E. and E.J. Crossman. 1992. A checklist of Ontario freshwater fishes annotated with distribution maps. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publication. Toronto, ON. v + 176 pp. |
McPhail, J.D. 2007. The freshwater fishes of British Columbia. The University of Alberta Press. Edmonton, AB. lxxiv + 620 pp. |
McPhail, J.D. and C.C. Lindsey. 1970. Freshwater fishes of northwestern Canada and Alaska. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 173. Ottawa, ON. 381 pp. |
Mecklenburg, C.W., T.A. Mecklenburg, and L.K. Thorsteinson. 2002. Fishes of Alaska. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxxvii + 1037 pp. |
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: February 2, 2023). |
Nelson, J.S. and M.J. Paetz. 1992. The fishes of Alberta, 2nd edition. The University of Alberta Press and The University of Calgary Press. Edmonton and Calgary, AB. xxvi + 437 pp. |
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico, second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston, MA. xix + 663 pp. |
Page, L.M., K.E. Bemis, T.E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, K.E. Hartel, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, M.A. Neighbors, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, and H.J. Walker Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 8th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 37. Bethesda, MD. 439 pp. |
Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill. 1982. Fishes of the Minnesota region. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN. x + 248 pp. |
Portt, C.B., G. Coker, and C.K. Minns. 1999. Riverine Habitat Characteristics of Fishes of the Great Lakes Watershed. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2481: vi + 62 p. |
Scott, W.B. 1967. Freshwater fishes of eastern Canada, second edition. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. xii + 137 pp. |
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184. [1998 Reprint] Galt House Publications Ltd. Oakville, ON. xx + 966 pp. |
Scharpf, C. 2006. Annotated checklist of North American freshwater fishes, including subspecies and undescribed forms. Part II: Catostomidae through Mugilidae. American Currents 32(4):1-39. |
Stewart, T.R., D.H. Ogle, O.T. Gorman, and M.R. Vinson. 2016. Age, growth, and size of Lake Superior Pygmy Whitefish (Prosopium coulterii). Am. Midl. Nat. 175:24-36. |
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