Summary ²

Family: Salmonidae

Lake whitefish(Coregonus clupeaformis) constitute the largest commercial fishery in the Great Lakes. They live in the big lakes, and some of the larger inland lakes. Will swim up some rivers to reproduce. Forage along the bottom, eating aquatic insect larvae, “shrimps,” and zebra and quagga mussels. Can form schools.

How to recognize: Small fleshy fin on the back in front of the tail. Mouth partially under head. Relatively tall, arched back. Moderately sized scales. Forked tail. Up to 2 feet /0.6 meters long.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) alavire, all rights reserved
2. (c) alavire, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• FishBase
• FishSource
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• VertNet
• World Register of Marine Species

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