name: Whitefish
flavor_db_name_variants: whitefish
source: foodb
status: draft
food_db_id: Whitefish
id: 503
name_scientific: Coregonus
description: Coregonus is a diverse genus of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae). The type species is Coregonus lavaretus. The Coregonus species are known as whitefishes. The genus contains at least 68 described extant taxa, but the true number of species is a matter of debate. Several species, including the Arctic cisco (C. autumnalis), the Bering cisco (C. laurettae), and the least cisco (C. sardinella) are anadromous, moving between salt water and fresh water. The genus was previously subdivided into two subgenera Coregonus ("true whitefishes") and Leucichthys ("ciscoes"), Coregonus comprising taxa with sub-terminal mouth and usually a benthic feeding habit, Leucichthys those with terminal or supra-terminal mouth and usually a pelagic plankton-feeding habit. This classification is not natural however: based on molecular data, ciscoes comprise two distinct lineages within the genus. Moreover, the genus Stenodus is not phylogenetically distinct from Coregonus. Many whitefish species or ecotypes, especially from the Great Lakes and the Alpine lakes of Europe, have gone extinct over the past century or are endangered. All Coregonus species are protected under appendix III of the Bern Convention.
itis_id: 161932
wikipedia_id: Coregonus
picture_file_name: 514.jpg
picture_content_type: image/jpeg
picture_file_size: 55556
picture_updated_at: 2012-04-20T09:44:01.000Z
legacy_id: 541
food_group: Aquatic foods
food_subgroup: Fishes
food_type: Type 1
created_at: 2011-02-09T00:37:46.000Z
updated_at: 2019-05-14T18:05:26.000Z
creator_id: null
updater_id: null
export_to_afcdb: false
category: specific
ncbi_taxonomy_id: 27772
export_to_foodb: true
public_id: FOOD00503