THE WHITEFISH. 



DESCRIPTION, COMMON NAMES, ETC. 



The common whitefisli {Corcgonns clupeiformis) is emiiieutly a lake 

 fish. It exists throughout the Great Lakes region, and is especially 

 abundant in lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. The eastern 

 limit of its range is Lake Champlain, and it is found in Lake Winnipeg, 

 and possibly farther west. It is landlocked in Otsego Lake, New York. 

 Efforts to introduce it into new waters in the States of the Pacific Coast 

 and Eocky Mountain region have not as yet been successful. 



Its body is rather long and compressed, and the back, especially in 

 adults, is arched in front; the greatest depth is about one-fourth the 

 body length. The head is small and short, contained about 5 times in 

 the length of the body; the snout is blunt; the mouth is small and 

 nearly horizontal with the lower jaw included; the maxillary is short 

 and broad, reaching to a point under the pupil; the mandible extends 

 to a point under the posterior edge of eye. The eye is small, its diam- 

 ter being about one-fifth the length of the head. The rays in both the 

 dorsal and anal fins number 11. The number of rows of scales along 

 the side of the body varies from about 82 to 92, with about 11 above 

 the lateral line and 8 below. The gillrakers number about 28, of which 

 10 are on t\e upper arm of the gill-arch; the longest are contained 

 about twice in the length of eye. The general color of this fish is a 

 satiny white, with a faint olive-green shade on the back. The fins are 

 uniformly white, except the caudal, which normally has a dark edge. 



This fish has a number of common names in difterent parts of its range. 

 It is the whitefish par excellence of the United States and Canada. As 

 found in Otsego Lake, New York, it is inappropriately called "Otsego 

 bass." In alhision to its humped back it is called "highback white- 

 fish," "bowback whitefish," "buffalo-back whitefish," and other similar 

 names, m Lake Superior. 



While more is known of the habits of this species than of any other 

 member of the group, many phases in its life are still obscure, as it 

 remains in deep water most of the time. Besides the regular annual 

 movements of the schools to the spawning-grounds, there are other 

 well-marked migrations in some lakes. Whether these depend on food, 

 temperature, enemies, or other causes, is not known. Owing to its 

 small, weak mouth, it is seldom taken with a baited hook. It subsists 

 on minute animal food, chiefly crustaceans, mollusks, and insect larvai. 

 The food of the fry and young fish is almost wholly small crustaceans. 



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