Nelma

Species of fish

Stenodus nelma
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae
Genus: Stenodus
Species:
S. nelma
Binomial name
Stenodus nelma
(Pallas, 1773)[1]
Synonyms
  • Salmo nelma Pallas, 1773
  • Stenodus leucichthys nelma (Pallas, 1773)
  • Salmo mackenzii Richardson, 1823
  • Stenodus leucichthys mackenzii (Richardson, 1823)
  • Stenodus mackenzii (Richardson, 1823)
  • Leucichthys nelma (Pallas, 1773)

Stenodus nelma, known alternatively as the nelma, sheefish, siifish, inconnu or connie, is a commercial species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is widespread in the Arctic rivers from the Kola Peninsula (White Sea basin) eastward across Siberia to the Anadyr River and also in the North American basins of the Yukon River and Mackenzie River.[2][1][3][4]

Appearance and lifestyle

Stenodus nelma is an anadromous fish, up to 150 centimetres (59 in) in length.[4] The fish has a large mouth with a protruding lower jaw and a high and pointed dorsal fin. It is generally silver in color with a green, blue or brown back. The meat is white, flaky and somewhat oily. An adult fish weighs up to 27 kilograms (60 lb).[5]

The fish eat plankton for their first year of life and then become predators of smaller fish. They live in lakes and rivers and in the brackish water at the outlets of rivers into the ocean. They may migrate more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) to their upriver spawning grounds, but some populations spend their entire life in fresh water and do not migrate.[5]

Systematics

Stenodus nelma has previously been considered a subspecies of Stenodus leucichthys (S. leucichthys nelma). The typical Stenodus leucichthys (beloribitsa) is a landlocked Eurasian species restricted to the Caspian Sea basin, and now extinct in the wild.[6][7]

Iñupiat fishing for sheefish at Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

References

  1. ^ a b c Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Stenodus nelma". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135545A4141935. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135545A4141935.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Kottelat, M.; Freyhof, J. (2007). Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. ISBN 978-2-8399-0298-4.
  3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Stenodus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2013). "Stenodus nelma" in FishBase. February 2013 version.
  5. ^ a b Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Sheefish Species Profile". www.adfg.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  6. ^ Belyaeva, E. S. "Stenodus leucichthys leucichthys". caspianenvironment.org. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03.
  7. ^ Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008). "Stenodus leucichthys". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T20745A9229071. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T20745A9229071.en.

External links

  • "Mackenzie River Ecosystem: A Dynamic Delta: Inconnu: The "Unknown" Fish" GreatCanadianRivers.com
  • Stenodus leucichthys nelma Illustration by N.N. Kondrakov. NOAA Photo Library.
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Members of
genus Coregonus
  • Coregonus albellus (autumn brienzlig)
  • C. albula (European cisco or vendace)
  • C. alpenae (longjaw cisco)
  • C. alpinus
  • C. anaulorum
  • C. arenicolus
  • C. artedi (cisco)
  • C. atterensis
  • C. austriacus
  • C. autumnalis (Arctic cisco)
  • C. baerii
  • C. baicalensis
  • C. baunti
  • C. bavaricus
  • C. bezola
  • C. candidus
  • C. chadary
  • C. clupeaformis (lake whitefish)
  • C. clupeoides
  • C. confusus
  • C. danneri
  • C. duplex
  • C. fatioi
  • C. fera (true fera)
  • C. fontanae
  • C. gutturosus (Lake Constance whitefish)
  • C. heglingus
  • C. hiemalis (gravenche)
  • C. hoferi
  • C. holsata
  • C. hoyi (bloater)
  • C. hubbsi (Ives Lake cisco)
  • C. huntsmanni (Atlantic whitefish)
  • C. johannae (deepwater cisco)
  • C. kiletz
  • C. kiyi (kiyi)
  • C. ladogae
  • C. laurettae (Bering cisco)
  • C. lavaretus
  • C. lucinensis
  • C. lutokka
  • C. macrophthalmus
  • C. maraena
  • C. maraenoides (Peipsi whitefish)
  • C. maxillaris
  • C. megalops
  • C. migratorius (omul)
  • C. muksun (muksun)
  • C. nasus (broad whitefish)
  • C. nelsonii (Alaska whitefish)
  • C. nigripinnis (blackfin cisco)
  • C. nilssoni
  • C. nipigon
  • C. nobilis
  • C. oxyrinchus (houting)
  • C. palaea
  • C. pallasii
  • C. peled (peled)
  • C. pennatii (gwyniad)
  • C. pidschian (humpback whitefish or pidschian)
  • C. pollan (pollan)
  • C. pravdinellus
  • C. reighardi (shortnose cisco)
  • C. renke
  • C. restrictus
  • C. sardinella (sardine cisco)
  • C. stigmaticus (schelly)
  • C. subautumnalis
  • C. suidteri
  • C. trybomi
  • C. tugun
  • C. ussuriensis
  • C. vandesius (vendace)
  • C. vessicus
  • C. wartmanni
  • C. widegreni
  • C. zenithicus (shortjaw cisco)
  • C. zuerichensis
  • C. zugensis
Members of
genus Prosopium
  • P. abyssicola (Bear Lake whitefish)
  • P. coulterii (pygmy whitefish)
  • P. cylindraceum (round whitefish)
  • P. spilonotus (Bonneville whitefish)
  • P. williamsoni (mountain whitefish)
Members of
genus Stenodus
  • S. nelma (nelma or inconnu)
  • S. leucichthys (beloribitsa)
Family Salmonidae


Taxon identifiers
Stenodus nelma


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