Round whitefish
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| Prosopium cylindraceum (Pennant, 1784) |
Round Whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum) is a freshwater species of fish that is found in lakes from Alaska to New England, including the Great Lakes. It is has an olive-brown back with light silvery sides and underside and its size is generally between 9 and 19 inches long. They are bottom feeders, feeding mostly on invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insect larvae, and fish eggs. Other common names of the round whitefish are menominee, pilot fish, frost fish, round-fish, and menominee whitefish. The common name "round whitefish" is also sometimes used to describe Coregonus huntsmani, a salmonid more commonly known as the Atlantic whitefish.
While it was once common, numbers have been decreasing in the last century due to a number of possible causes. The round whitefish is now protected in some states, such as New York, under the Endangered Species Act from harvest or possession.
[edit] References
- Prosopium cylindraceum (TSN 162008). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 6 June 2006.
- "Prosopium cylindraceum". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
