The Ives Lake cisco (''Coregonus hubbsi'') is a

freshwater whitefish The freshwater whitefish are fishes of the subfamily Coregoninae, which contains whitefishes (both freshwater and anadromous) and ciscoes, and is one of three subfamilies in the salmon family Salmonidae. Apart from the subfamily Coregoninae, th ...

known to inhabit a single inland lake in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

. The species was last observed in 1983, although there is disagreement on whether it is distinct from ''

Coregonus artedi ''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 ...

''. This taxon has been found only in Ives Lake, a lake in the

Huron Mountains The Huron Mountains are located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, mostly in Marquette and Baraga counties, overlooking Lake Superior. Their highest peak is Mount Arvon which, at above sea level, is the highest point in the s ...

. The lake encompasses a radius of less than .

Discovery

With the cooperation of the Huron Mountain Club, specimens were first collected by Carl Leavitt Hubbs and

Walter Koelz Walter Norman Koelz (September 11, 1895, Waterloo, Michigan – September 24, 1989) was an American zoologist and museum collector. Walter Koelz's parents were immigrants from the Black Forest region of Germany, and his father was a village black ...

in 1924 and 1927. Koelz published their discovery through the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1929, and designated the taxon as ''Leucichthys hubbsi''. Koelz found the stream draining Ives Lake quickly dropped over , and postulated that the stream's steepness had prevented faunal interchange since the time of

Lake Algonquin Lake Algonquin was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in east-central North America at the time of the last ice age. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Nipigon, and Lake Nipissing ...

Description

Walter Koelz described ''Coregonous hubbsi'' in a 1929 publication titled "Leucichthys hubbsi, a new cisco, From Ives Lake,

Marquette County, Michigan Marquette County ( ) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 66,017. The county seat is Marquette. The county is named for Father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary. It w ...

". The color was noted as silvery, with "underlying tones of pea-green and blue green" along with gray

fins A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

. Koelz claimed that the Ives Lake cisco was easily distinguishable from ''Coregonus artedi'' due to the long

gill rakers Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch (gill arch) and are involved with suspension feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the fleshy part of t ...

of ''C. hubbsi''. He reported that the Ives Lake cisco is smaller and has a less slender body than ''C. artedi''.

Conservation status

There has been scientific disagreement on whether or not the Ives Lake cisco is a distinct species from the widespread ''C. artedi''; hence there is no consensus on the conservation status. A 2005 report from the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

recommended that the Ives Lake cisco be removed from the list of "special-concern" species. However, a 2013 report from the same publisher gave the Ives Lake cisco a "critically imperiled" G-rank and S-rank for conservation status, and listed the fish as "extremely vulnerable" to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18821601 Coregonus Fish of the Great Lakes Freshwater fish of the United States Cold water fish Natural history of Michigan Marquette County, Michigan