290 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF AMERICAN SPECIES OF WHITEFISHES. 



In nomenclature and in sequence of species we follow Jordan & 

 Evermann's Fishes of North and Middle America. 1 In the matter of 

 synonymy, preceding the description of each species, we give reference 

 only to the publications in which the various species were described as 

 new. From the synonymy it may be seen that twenty-nine nominal 

 species and subspecies of American whitefishes have been described, 

 but these are now believed to represent only twenty really different 

 forms. The species which have each been described as new more than 

 once are the following : Goregonus ivilliamsoni, twice ; G. qua dr Hater alis, 

 twice; G. clupeiformis, five times; C. labradoricus, three times, and 

 Argyrosomus arledi, twice. 



In connection with each reference we have given the locality from 

 which the type specimens of the supposed new species were obtained. 

 The types of only eight of these nominal species are in the collection 

 of the United States National Museum. We give in parentheses the 

 numbers which they bear on the Museum records. 



1. Coregonus coulterii Eigenmann & Eigenmann. 



Coulter's Whitepish. 



Coregonus coulterii Eigenmann & Eigenmann, American Naturalist, November, 1892, 

 961, Kicking Horse River at Field, British Columbia, one of the head streams 

 of the Columbia River. (Type, No. 44875.) 



Description. — Head, 4i to 5; depth, 4i to 5i; eye, 3£ to 3|j snout, 4f 

 to 5; maxillary, 3f to 4; mandible, 2| to 3. D. 9 or 10; A. 10 or 11. 

 Scales, 8-60 to 64-6. Gillrakers, 5+ 11. Body rather slender, com- 

 pressed, back not much elevated; head short; snout short, bluntly 

 decurved; mouth small, nearly horizontal, the upper lip on a level with 

 the lower line of orbit; maxillary short, broadly ovate behind, barely 

 reaching vertical of pupil; lower jaw short, included, the mandible 

 scarcely reaching vertical of posterior edge of pupil. Distance from tip 

 of snout to occiput If in distance from occiput to origin of dorsal fin. 

 Caudal peduncle long, slender, and compressed. Fins moderate; origin 

 of dorsal much nearer snout than base of caudal, its height If in head 

 and about equal to length of pectoral or longest anal ray. Gillrakers 

 very short, fewer than in G. ivilliamsoni. Scales large, firm. Color, pale 

 bluish or lead-color above, becoming silvery on sides and white below; 

 fins all plain. Size small, the specimens examined by us being 5 inches 

 or under in total length. 



This species is most closely related to 0. ivilliamsoni, from which it 

 seems to differ in the larger scales and fewer gillrakers. Specimens of 

 ivilliamsoni the size of the types of coulterii nearly always show the parr 



1 Fishes of North and Middle America, Bull. 47, United States National Museum, 

 part I, pp. 461-473, 1896. 



