Coregonus albellus
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Coregonus albellus
| image_caption = Coregenus albellus
| image = Coregonus_albellus_(10.3897-zookeys.989.32822)_Figure_4.jpg
| authority = Fatio, 1890
| synonyms = * Coregonus exigmas albellus Fatio, 1890
| synonyms_ref = {{Cof genus|genus=Coregonus|access-date=5 April 2025}}
}}
Coregonus albellus, the autumn brienzlig or the Bernese whitefish, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Salmonidae, which includes the salmon, trout, whitefish and graylings. This whitefish is endemic to Switzerland.
Taxonomy
Coregonus albellus was first formally described as Coregonus exigmas albellus in 1890 by the Swiss zoologist Victor Fatio with its type locality given as Lake Thun in Switzerland. This species is classified in the whitefish genus Coregonus which is in the subfamily Coregoninae in the family Salmonidae.{{Cof family|family=Coregoninae|access-date=5 April 2025}}
Etymology
Coregonus albellus belongs to the genus Coregonus, this name was coined by Peter Artedi in 1738 for C. lavaretus and combines core, derived from kórē which means the pupil in Greek, with gōnía, an "angle" or "corner", an allusion to the front part of the pupil protruding at an acute angle. The specific name, albellus, is a latinisation of the Swiss names albeli or albuli. These are derived from the Latin albus, meaning "white", the root of the name weissfische, i.e. "whitefish".{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/salmonidae/ |title=Family SALMONIDAE Jarocki or Schinz 1822 (Salmonids) |author=Christopher Scharpf |date=25 March 2025 |access-date=5 April 2025 |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}
Description
Coregonus albellus has a maximum published standard length of {{cvt|26|cm}}.
Distribution and habitat
Coregonus albellus is endmeic to Switzerland where it is native to two lakes, Lake Brienz and Lake Thun in Berne, although the species has become established in a third lake, Lake Biel, also in Berne, probably migrating along the man-made Aare-Hagneck Canal. The autumn brienzlig is found in deep perialpine oligotrophic lakes which it shares with seven other species of whitefish. This species appears to be found in both benthic and pelagic zones of the lakes it lives in, being found at depths between {{cvt|10|and|70|m}}, sometimes as deep as {{cvt|130|m}}.
Biology
Coregonus albellus feeds on zooplankton and is slow growing. It spawns twice a year in August to October and in December to March. Spawning occurs at in deep water, the actual depth depending on the season spawning occurs.