Round Whitefish
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Name and Code
Family
Salmonidae - trouts and salmons
Species
Prosopium cylindraceum
Taxonomic Authority
(Pennant 1784)
Common Name(s)
Round Whitefish
French Name
ménomini rond
Species Code
102
Family TSN
161931
Parent TSN
162007
Species TSN
162008
Conservation Status
Global Rank (GRank)
G5 (2015-06-02)
National Rank (NRank)
N5B, N5N, N5M (2017-12-27)
Provincial Rank (SRank)
S4 (1997-10-07)
COSEWIC Status
none
SARO Status
none
AFS Status
none
Status Notes
none
Ecological Value
Ontario Origin
native
General Abundance
common
Tolerance
intolerant
Economic Importance
commercial fishery
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/carnivore
Thermal Regime
coldwater
Habitat Preference
shallow waters (<37 m) of deep lakes and clear streams; preferred water temperature 17.5°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)
2-4.5
Fecundity
1,076-26,732
Nursery Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Size and Age
Adult Length (cm)
22.9-39.4 TL
Adult Weight (kg)
0.09-0.47
Age at Maturity (yrs)
2-4
Maximum Length (cm)
59.0 TL
Maximum Weight (kg)
2.72
Lifespan (yrs)
16-25
Ontario Records
Record Length (cm)
54.2 TL
Record Weight (kg)
1.9
Ontario Range Map
Round Whitefish range
Ontario Distribution
Great Lakes (except Erie), Lake Nipigon, central, eastern and northern Ontario
Photographs
Round Whitefish photograph
Round Whitefish photograph
Notes
reported in brackish waters on Hudson Bay
Information Sources
Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. xii + 1052 pp.
Bernatchez, L. and M. Giroux. 2000. Les poissons d'eau douce du Québec et leur répartition dans l'Est du Canada. Broquet Inc. Saint-Constant, QC. 350 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.
Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press. University Park and London. vii + 243 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.
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., 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.
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.
Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters (OFAH). 2022. OFAH Ontario record fish registry. https://www.ofah.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OFAH_RecFish_Nov22.pdf. November 14, 2022.
Page, L.M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, R.L. Mayden, and J.S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 7th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 34. Bethesda, MD. 243 pp.
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.
Smith, C.L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. xi + 522 pp.
Stewart, K.W. and D.A. Watkinson. 2004. The freshwater fishes of Manitoba. University of Manitoba Press. Winnipeg, MB. xvii + 276 pp.
Wismer, D.A. and A.E. Christie. 1987. Temperature relationships of Great Lakes fishes: a data compilation. Great Lakes Fish. Comm. Spec. Pub. 87-3. 195 pp.