The Atlantic whitefish (''Coregonus huntsmani'') is a coregonine fish inhabiting some freshwater lakes within

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. It is known to survive only in the Petite Rivière watershed as landlocked populations. Earlier it was also found in the

Tusket Tusket is a small fishing community located in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia on route 308. History "Neketaouksit", the Mi'kmaq word for the "Great Forked Tidal River", evolved to what is now called Tusket. The village was originally settled by ...

and Annis rivers of Nova Scotia. Those populations were anadromous, migrating to the estuary to feed while breeding in freshwater. ''C. huntsmani'' was originally designated ''Coregonus canadensis'', but the species name was changed in 1987. Other common names that ''C. huntsmani'' is known by are Acadian whitefish and sault whitefish. The species was designated as an endangered species by the IUCN in 1986 and vulnerable in 1996. It is now considered critically endangered due to the consequences of

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

building and introduced predators such as smallmouth bass and

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy Fren ...

. Nova Scotia prohibited the taking of Atlantic whitefish under the Canadian

Fisheries Act Fisheries Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in multiple countries relating to fisheries. The Bill for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Fisheries Bill during its passage through Parliament. ...

. Other conservation actions for the species include captive breeding and restocking, as well as control of the introduced predators. The Atlantic whitefish has a typical salmonid body shape and is silvery on the sides and underside with a dark blue to dark green back. The landlocked populations feed on insects and small fish. The reproduction of Atlantic whitefish in nature has not been observed. The narrowly endemic Atlantic whitefish is genetically distinct from the

lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...

(''Coregonus clupeaformis'') and the

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(''Coregonus artedi''), which both are widespread across much of continental North America. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that the species is the most basal member of the widespread and speciose genus ''

Coregonus ''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 typ ...

'', with its lineage diverging from the rest of the ''Coregonus'' species during the mid-

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, about 15 million years ago. It is even more basal than the genus '' Stenodus'', making ''Coregonus'' paraphyletic with respect to ''Stenodus''.

References

*
Recovery potential assessment of Atlantic whitefish (''Coregonus huntsmani'')
Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Science Advisory Report 2009/051 *

External links

Fisheries and Oceans Canada www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture factsheet

''Coregonus canadensis''
World Register of Marine Species entry {{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Whitefish Coregonus Fish described in 1987 Endemic fauna of Canada Endemic fauna of Nova Scotia