| Stenodus nelma | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Salmoniformes |
| Family: | Salmonidae |
| Genus: | Stenodus |
| Species: | S. nelma |
| Binomial name | |
| Stenodus nelma | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Stenodus nelma, known alternatively as thenelma,sheefish,siifish,inconnu orconnie, is a commercial species offreshwater whitefish in the familySalmonidae. It is widespread in the Arctic rivers from theKola Peninsula (White Sea basin) eastward across Siberia to theAnadyr River and also in the North American basins of theYukon River andMackenzie River.[2][1][3][4]
Stenodus nelma is ananadromous fish, up to 150 centimetres (59 in) in length.[4] The fish has a large mouth with a protruding lower jaw and a high and pointeddorsal 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).[5]
The fish eatplankton for their first year of life and then becomepredators of smaller fish. They live inlakes andrivers and in thebrackish water at the outlets of rivers into the ocean. They maymigrate 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.[5]
Stenodus nelma has previously been considered a subspecies ofStenodus leucichthys (S. leucichthys nelma). The typicalStenodus leucichthys (beloribitsa) is a landlocked Eurasian species restricted to theCaspian Sea basin, and nowextinct in the wild.[6][7]
Stenodus nelma is a historically important subsistence food for Native Alaskans in the Yukon andMackenzie River basins.[8]
It is prized bysport fishers who sometimes refer to it as "Tarpon of the Tundra" due to its leaping and fighting abilities matching that of the tropicalTarpon.[9]
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