Powan
Species of fish / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The powan (Coregonus clupeoides) is a kind of freshwater whitefish endemic to two lochs in Scotland, Loch Lomond and Loch Eck.[1] It has been successfully introduced in two other sites, Loch Sloy and the Carron Valley Reservoir.[3]
Powan | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Salmoniformes |
Family: | Salmonidae |
Genus: | Coregonus |
Species: | C. clupeoides |
Binomial name | |
Coregonus clupeoides Lacépède, 1803 | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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Powan populations are relatively healthy,[1] but may have been negatively impacted by the introduced ruffe, which eats powan eggs and fry. As a conservation action, an attempt to establish populations in four additional lochs has been undertaken.[4][5]
The taxonomic status of the British whitefish populations, including powan, is a matter of debate. Currently the Scottish powan, along with the Welsh gwyniad known from a single lake, and four similar populations in England known as schelly, are generally considered belonging to the widespread Eurasian common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus).[3][6] This accords with the close genetic similarity among these units,[7] and the absence of clear morphological differences between them.[8] FishBase and the IUCN continue to recognize the Scottish powan as a distinct species, Coregonus clupeoides.[1][9]