FISHES OF NEW YORK 225 



are equal to each other and two thirds of length of head. D. 10 

 divided rays; A. 11 divided rays; Y. 11; P. 15. Scales in lateral 

 line 74 to 80. The upper parts are grayish or light olive in 

 color; the sides white and lustrous in life. 



Names. The name whitefish is thoroughly identified with this 

 species and is seldom varied except by means of the prefix 

 -'• common " or " lake." A well marked variety in Otsego lake, 

 N. Y., has long been known as the Otsego bass. 



Distribution. The common whitefish occurs in the Great lakes 

 -and northward into British America; its northern limit is not 

 definitely known. In Alaska, where the species was formerly 

 supposed to exist, it is replaced by a similar, but well marked 

 form, the Coregonus richardsoni of Gtinther. The 

 Tariety known as Otsego bass is found in Otsego lake. If 

 we may judge from the yield of the fisheries. Lake Michigan has 

 more whitefish than any of the other lakes; Superior ranks sec- 

 ond; Erie third; Huron fourth; and Ontario is sadly in the rear. 



Size. The largest individual on record was taken at White- 

 fish Point, Lake Superior; it weighed 23 pounds. A IT i)Ound 

 specimen was caught at Vermilion, in Lake Erie in 187G. The 

 size varies greatly with locality, ranging in general all the way 

 from If pounds to 14 pounds. In Lake Erie in 1885 the average 

 weight was between 2 and 3 pounds. The length of adults will 

 -average 20 inches. 



Habits. There is a movement of the whitefish in many lakes 

 from the deep water early in the summer into the shoal water 

 near the shore. In the midsummer, however, the usual retreat 

 of this species is the deep and cold parts of the lakes which they 

 inhabit. Again, as the spawning season approaches in October, 

 the whitefish come toward the shore to deposit their eggs. It 

 is said that they do not spawn till the water has reached a tem- 

 perature of about 40°. After spawning they again retire to 

 deep water, where they remain during the winter. Mr Milner 

 observed that the shoreward migration varies with locality, and 

 is influenced also by depth of water and temperature. In Lake 

 Erie, for example, which has a high summer temperature, there 



