Pygmy Whitefish
Return To Search
Name and Code
Family
Salmonidae - trouts and salmons
Species
Prosopium coulterii
Taxonomic Authority
(Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1892)
Common Name(s)
Pygmy Whitefish
French Name
ménomini pygmée
Species Code
101
Family TSN
161931
Parent TSN
162007
Species TSN
162011
Conservation Status
Global Rank (GRank)
G5 (2008-01-15)
National Rank (NRank)
N21, N1N22 (2017-12-22)
Provincial Rank (SRank)
SU (1997-10-10)
COSEWIC Status
Threatened1, Data Deficient2 (Nov 2016)
SARO Status
Not at Risk1, Data Deficient2 (2017)
AFS Status
none
Status Notes
(1) Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence populations; (2) Saskatchewan-Nelson Rivers populations
Ecological Value
Ontario Origin
native
General Abundance
limited distribution
Tolerance
intolerant
Economic Importance
none
Length-Weight Regression Coefficents
Intercept (a)
-5.4619
Slope (b)
3.1346
Length Basis
TL
Habitat and Feeding
General Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Environment
benthopelagic
Trophic Class
invertivore
Thermal Regime
coldwater
Habitat Preference
cold, deep waters (18-90 m) of lakes, usually >30 m; preferred water temperature <10°C
Reproduction
Reproductive Guild
Nonguarders: Open substratum spawners: Lithophils
Spawning Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Spawning Season
fall
Spawning Month(s)
November-December
Spawning Temperature (°C)
0.5-4
Fecundity
93-1,412
Nursery Habitat(s)
lacustrine
Size and Age
Adult Length (cm)
9.1-15.1 TL
Adult Weight (kg)
0.004-0.023
Age at Maturity (yrs)
2 (m); 3 (f)
Maximum Length (cm)
27.1 FL
Maximum Weight (kg)
0.163
Lifespan (yrs)
5-7 (m); 7-9 (f)
Ontario Records
Record Length (cm)
14.2 TL
Record Weight (kg)
none
Ontario Range Map
Pygmy Whitefish range
Ontario Distribution
Lake Superior, northwestern Ontario (Delaney Lake, Silver Lake, Winnange Lake, Mameigwess Lake) Saskatchewan - Nelson River basin
Photographs
Pygmy Whitefish photograph
Pygmy Whitefish photograph
Notes
Lake Superior population discovered in 1952 is over 1,600 km outside the normal range (Pacific Northwest)
Information Sources
Bailey, R.M., W.C. Latta, and G.R. Smith. 2004. An atlas of Michigan fishes with keys and illustrations for their identification. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications No. 192. iv + 215 pp.
Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. Tolerance and trophic guilds of selected fish species. Appendix C in Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water. Washington, DC.
Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. xii + 1052 pp.
Carlander, K.D. 1969. Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Volume one. Life history data on freshwater fishes of the United States and Canada, exclusive of the Perciformes. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA. vi + 752 pp.
Coad, B.W. with H. Waszczuk and I. Labignan. 1995. Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions. Ottawa and Waterdown, ON. viii + 928 pp.
Coker, G.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 2001. Morphological and ecological characteristics of Canadian freshwater fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2554: iv + 89 p.
COSEWIC. 2016. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Pygmy Whitefish Prosopium coulterii, Southwestern Yukon Beringian populations, Yukon River populations, Pacific populations, Western Arctic populations, Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations, Waterton Lake populations and Saskatchewan - Nelson Rivers populations in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. iv + 69 pp.
COSEWIC. 2023. Canadian wildlife species at risk. October 2023. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Gatineau, QC. iv + 130 pp.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2550: v + 39 p.
Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023.
Goldstein, R.M. and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. Pages 123-202 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Goodyear, C.S., T.A. Edsall, D.M. Ormsby Dempsey, G.D. Moss, and P.E. Polanski. 1982. Atlas of the spawning and nursery areas of Great Lakes fishes. Volume thirteen: Reproductive characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, DC. FWS/OBS-82/52.
Holm, E., N. Mandrak, and M. Burridge. 2021. A field guide to freshwater fishes of Ontario, second edition. Royal Ontario Museum Science Publication. Toronto, ON. 486 pp.
Hubbs, C.L. and K.F. Lagler. 1964. Fishes of the Great Lakes region. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xv + 213 pp.
Hubbs, C.L., K.F. Lagler, and G.R. Smith. 2004. Fishes of the Great Lakes region, revised edition. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xvii + 276 pp.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. On-line database. http://www.itis.gov, retrieved 02 May 2023.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Nursery habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2338: v + 42 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Adult habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2358: v + 43 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Spawning habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2368: v + 48 p.
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History Publication 1980-12. Raleigh, NC. x + 867 pp.
Mandrak, N.E. and E.J. Crossman. 1992. A checklist of Ontario freshwater fishes annotated with distribution maps. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publication. Toronto, ON. v + 176 pp.
McPhail, J.D. 2007. The freshwater fishes of British Columbia. The University of Alberta Press. Edmonton, AB. lxxiv + 620 pp.
McPhail, J.D. and C.C. Lindsey. 1970. Freshwater fishes of northwestern Canada and Alaska. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 173. Ottawa, ON. 381 pp.
Mecklenburg, C.W., T.A. Mecklenburg, and L.K. Thorsteinson. 2002. Fishes of Alaska. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxxvii + 1037 pp.
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: February 2, 2023).
Nelson, J.S. and M.J. Paetz. 1992. The fishes of Alberta, 2nd edition. The University of Alberta Press and The University of Calgary Press. Edmonton and Calgary, AB. xxvi + 437 pp.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico, second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston, MA. xix + 663 pp.
Page, L.M., K.E. Bemis, T.E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, K.E. Hartel, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, M.A. Neighbors, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, and H.J. Walker Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 8th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 37. Bethesda, MD. 439 pp.
Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill. 1982. Fishes of the Minnesota region. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN. x + 248 pp.
Portt, C.B., G. Coker, and C.K. Minns. 1999. Riverine Habitat Characteristics of Fishes of the Great Lakes Watershed. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2481: vi + 62 p.
Scott, W.B. 1967. Freshwater fishes of eastern Canada, second edition. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. xii + 137 pp.
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184. [1998 Reprint] Galt House Publications Ltd. Oakville, ON. xx + 966 pp.
Scharpf, C. 2006. Annotated checklist of North American freshwater fishes, including subspecies and undescribed forms. Part II: Catostomidae through Mugilidae. American Currents 32(4):1-39.
Stewart, T.R., D.H. Ogle, O.T. Gorman, and M.R. Vinson. 2016. Age, growth, and size of Lake Superior Pygmy Whitefish (Prosopium coulterii). Am. Midl. Nat. 175:24-36.