38 
bulletin of the bureau of fisheries. 
in technical characters, we regard Coregonus a/bus as a doubtful species, its distinctions being perhaps 
purely ontogenetic. On the other hand, it is claimed that the fry of the two can be readily separated. 
Mr. Harry Marks, superintendent of the United States hatchery at Sault Ste. Marie, claims that the eggs 
of Coregonus clupeaformis are larger and darker than those of the Lake Erie whitefish. The fry are 
also livelier and are marked by two dark lines on the side, while those of C. albus are plain silvery. 
The Lake Superior whitefish takes the hook readily, large numbers being taken every day in season 
in the locks at Sault Ste. Marie by local anglers. Coregonus albus is not known to take the hook. 
The eggs of the Lake Erie whitefish have been planted in all the other lakes, and we have 
recognized specimens we call Coregonus albus from Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, and Lake Superior 
among the Apostle Islands. The close resemblance between the whitefish, fat, plump, and pale, from 
the milky waters of Lake Winnipeg and those of Lake Erie has been noticed by many fish dealers. 
We doubt if anyone could distinguish individual specimens from these two localities, although on the 
average they are different. Possibly Coregonus albus is merely an “ontogenetic species,” its peculiari- 
ties being due to the conditions of food and water in Lake Erie. 
According to the figures issued by the Bureau of the Census, the total catch of whitefish in 
United States waters of the Great Lakes for the calendar year 1908 was 7,482,800 pounds, valued at 
$ 5 ° 7 > 3 10 - The following table shows the catch by states: 
State. 
Pounds. 
Value. 
Pennsylvania 
451. 200 
$36, 290 
Ohio 
732 , 200 
60, 010 
Michigan 
4, 768, soo 
339 . 230 
Indiana 
5 r , 800 
4 . 990 
Wisconsin 
1, 274. 500 
56,320 
Minnesota 
204, 600 
10, 470 
Total 
7, 482, 800 
507 . 3 io 
Coregonus nelsoni Bean. Alaska Whitefish. 
Coregonus nelsonii Bean, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. vii, 1884, p. 48, Nulato, Alaska; type 29903 ; collector Edward 
W. Nelson. 
Habitat: Rivers and lakes of Alaska and Mackenzie River region. 
This species resembles the Lake Erie whitefish, but has a smaller mouth and the flesh is said 
to be dry and bony. 
Subgenus PROSOPILTM Milner. 
Numerous species of river whitefish occur in the United States. These belong to the subgenus 
Prosopium, distinguished by the elongate form, the thick gillrakers. and the moderate or large 
scales. In some of these the males have pearl organs or tubercles on the scales in spring. In some 
the adipose fin is enormously developed. In some the snout in the male is much produced, and in 
one the scales are much enlarged. Each of these types should perhaps stand as a distinct subgenus, 
the typical species of each being quadrilateralis ( Prosopium ), william soni, coulter i and oregonius. 
Coregonus quadrilateralis (Richardson). Menominee Whitefish; Pilotfish', Round. Whitefish; Shadwaiter. 
(PI. VII.) 
Coregonus quadrilateralis Richardson, Franklin’s Narrative, p. 714, pi. xxv, fig. 2, 1823, Fort Enterprise, British 
America. 
Coregonus nov-anglice Prescott, Am. Jour. Sci. Arts, vol. xi, 1851, p. 342, Lake Winnepesaukee N. H. 
Habitat: Alaska and upper Great Lakes to New England, in lakes. 
This species is common in Lake Superior and the northern parts of Lake Huron and Lake 
Michigan. It may be known at once by its short head and elongate, little compressed body. It is 
not highly valued as food, ranking even inferior to lake herrings in this regard, and agreeing with 
them in size and form. It is destructive to the spawn of the whitefish. 
The species is recorded by Evermann from Lake Bennett, Yukon Territory, where it was taken 
by the writers in 1903. It is also recorded from various other localities on the Yukon and from 
Wood River (Bristol Bay). As the species certainly does not occur in the Winnipeg basin, it may 
