The Bonneville whitefish (''Prosopium spilonotus'') is a

salmonid Salmonidae (, ) is a family of ray-finned fish, the only extant member of the suborder Salmonoidei, consisting of 11 extant genera and over 200 species collectively known as "salmonids" or "salmonoids". The family includes salmon (both Atlantic a ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Bear Lake on the

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

border. It is one of three species of ''

Prosopium ''Prosopium'' is a genus of freshwater whitefishes found in North America and parts of eastern Russia. It contains three fairly widespread species: the round whitefish, the pygmy whitefish, and the mountain whitefish. The remaining species, the B ...

'' endemic to Bear Lake, the other two being the Bear Lake whitefish and the Bonneville cisco. The species is listed as a ''Wildlife Species of Concern'' by the

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) is part of the Utah Department of Natural Resources for the state of Utah in the United States. The mission of the Division of Wildlife Resources is to serve the people of Utah as trustee and guard ...

. In appearance, it is very similar to the closely related Bear Lake whitefish ''P. abyssicola''. Generally whitish in color, its nose is more tapered than that of the Bear Lake whitefish, and its scales are smaller. Younger fish, up to 10 inches (25 cm) long, have a pattern of spots which then fades. They have been reported to reach a length of 22 inches (56 cm) and an age of eight years. It generally inhabits mid-levels of the lake, where it primarily feeds on

chironomid Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid s ...

larvae and pupae, along with a variety of insects. The fish may also move into shallower waters, particularly during the winter months. Older fish also seem to be more likely to move into shallow water than younger ones. They spawn from mid-February through early March, over rocky or sandy areas. The female will stop to spawn, with 5-6 males in attendance, the total process lasting 5 to 15 seconds before the fish rejoin their school. While some are caught on hook and line, they are not especially popular with anglers. A number are caught by gill nets deployed at depths of 40 to 100 feet.

References

* * William F. Sigler and John W. Sigler, ''Fishes of the Great Basin'' (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1987), pp. 104–105 *

External links

Utah Conservation Data Center - Bonneville whitefish

{{Authority control Prosopium Endemic fauna of Utah Fish of the Western United States Freshwater fish of the United States Fauna of the Great Basin Taxa named by John Otterbein Snyder Fish described in 1919