Nelma

Stenodus nelma, known alternatively as the nelma, sheefish, siifish, inconnu or connie, is a commercial species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is widespread in the Arctic rivers from the Kola Peninsula (White Sea basin) eastward across Siberia to the Anadyr River and also in the North American basins of the Yukon River and Mackenzie River.[3][4][5][6]

Stenodus nelma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae
Genus: Stenodus
Species:
S. nelma
Binomial name
Stenodus nelma
(Pallas, 1773) [2]
Synonyms
  • Salmo nelma Pallas, 1773
  • Stenodus leucichthys nelma (Pallas, 1773)
  • Salmo mackenzii Richardson, 1823
  • Stenodus leucichthys mackenzii (Richardson, 1823)
  • Stenodus mackenzii (Richardson, 1823)
  • Leucichthys nelma(Pallas, 1773)

Appearance and lifestyle

Stenodus nelma is an anadromous fish, up to 150 centimetres (59 in) in length.[6] The fish has a large mouth with a protruding lower jaw and a high and pointed dorsal fin. It is generally silver in color with a green, blue or brown back. The meat is white, flaky and somewhat oily. An adult fish weighs up to 27 kilograms (60 lb).[7]

The fish eat plankton for their first year of life and then become predators of smaller fish. They live in lakes and rivers and in the brackish water at the outlets of rivers into the ocean. They may migrate more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) to their upriver spawning grounds, but some populations spend their entire life in fresh water and do not migrate.[7]

Systematics

Stenodus nelma has previously been considered a subspecies of Stenodus leucichthys (S. leucichthys nelma). The typical Stenodus leucichthys (beloribitsa) is a landlocked Eurasian species restricted to the Caspian Sea basin, and now extinct in the wild.[8][9]

Iñupiat fishing for sheefish at Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

References
  1. Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Stenodus nelma". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135545A4141935. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135545A4141935.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Kottelat, M. & Freyhof, J. (2008) 2011. Stenodus nelma. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2019-1
  3. Kottelat, M.; Freyhof, J. (2007). Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. ISBN 978-2-8399-0298-4.
  4. Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Stenodus nelma". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135545A4141935. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135545A4141935.en.
  5. Eschmeyer F. Catalog of Fishes (Search: Stenodus (species)) California Academy of Sciences. (15 March 2012 version)
  6. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2013). "Stenodus nelma" in FishBase. February 2013 version.
  7. dfg.webmaster@alaska.gov. "Sheefish Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game". www.adfg.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  8. Belyaeva, E. S. "Stenodus leucichthys leucichthys". caspianenvironment.org. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03.
  9. Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Stenodus leucichthys". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T20745A9229071. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T20745A9229071.en.


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