The Arctic cisco (''Coregonus autumnalis''), also known as Arctic omul (), is an

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

species of

freshwater whitefish The freshwater whitefish are fishes of the subfamily Coregoninae, which contains whitefishes (both freshwater and anadromous) and ciscoes, and is one of three subfamilies in the salmon family Salmonidae. Apart from the subfamily Coregoninae, ...

that inhabits the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

parts of

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

especially

Yenisey Gulf The Yenisei Gulf (, ''Yeniseysky zaliv'') is a large and long estuary through which the lower Yenisei flows into the Kara Sea. The Yenisei Gulf and its islands belong to the Krasnoyarsk Krai administrative division of the Russian Federation and ...

. It can also be found in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It has a close freshwater relative in several lakes of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, known as the pollan, alternatively regarded as

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...

with it, or as a distinct species.

Taxonomy

The freshwater

omul The omul, ''Coregonus migratorius'', also known as Baikal omul (), is a whitefish species of the salmon family endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. It is considered a delicacy and is the object of one of the largest commercial fisheries ...

of the

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

, formerly considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

''Coregonus autumnalis migratorius'' of the Arctic cisco, has no close genetic relationship to it and is now classified as a separate species, '' Coregonus migratorius''.

Description

The Arctic cisco has a relatively small head with a non-prominent snout. It has a metallic silver body, a brown or dark green back, and nearly colorless fins. It has neither spots nor teeth on its jaw. It does not have a patch of teeth on its tongue. It can reach 50 cm (20 in) in length and weight up to 2 kg (4.4 lbs) but is usually less than 40 cm (16 in) in length and 1 kg (2.2 lbs) in weight.

Distribution and habitat

The Arctic cisco can be found in the

Beaufort Sea The Beaufort Sea ( ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alaska, and west of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The sea is named after Sir Francis Beaufort, a Hydrography, hydrographer. T ...

, Colville River delta, and freshwater drainages east of the Sagavanirktok River. It can be found in several drainages in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

and Siberia, such as the Chaun River, and is not often found east of

Point Barrow Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, northeast of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at , south of the North Pole. (The northe ...

Food chain

Diet

The Arctic cisco preys upon plankton, crustaceans and small fishes.

Predators

Predators of the Arctic cisco include marine mammals, seabirds and large fishes such as the

Dolly Varden trout The Dolly Varden trout (''Salvelinus malma'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. Despite the name "trout" (which typically refers to freshwater species from ...

and

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...

Behaviors

Reproduction

The Arctic cisco is able to spawn at 8 or 9 years of age. Females may only be able to spawn two or three times in their life, and do not necessarily produce eggs every year. The Arctic cisco reproduces in September. It does not reproduce in Alaskan waters but does reproduce in the

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

. Females have up to 90,000 eggs.

Migration

Young Arctic cisco migrate along the Beaufort Sea coast and are then aided by winds to the Colville River delta, where they are over 160 km (100 mi) from where they spawned. They return to the Mackenzie River to spawn. They do not feed while migrating upwards.

Life history

Arctic cisco can live to be 13 years old or more.

Conservation

Little is known of the abundance of Arctic cisco in Alaska.

Threats

The largest threats to the Arctic cisco appear to be climate change and oil and gas development.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6714971 Coregonus Freshwater fish of the Arctic Freshwater fish of Europe Freshwater fish of the United States Fish of Canada Fish described in 1776