Kingdom Animalia Class Actinopterygii Family Salmonidae Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Salmoniformes Genus Salvelinus | |
Similar Salvethymus svetovidovi, Salvelinus killinensis, Salvelinus inframundus, Kirikuchi char, Salvelinus umbla | ||
Salvelinus elgyticus is a species of fish in the salmon family, Salmonidae. It is a member of genus Salvelinus, the chars. It is known commonly as the small-mouth char (Russian: малоротая палия). It is endemic to Lake El'gygytgyn in eastern Siberia in Russia.
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Description
It is a small char species, dark colored with light spots, reaching a maximum length of just over 23 centimeters. Little is known about its habits and life cycle.
Biology
This cold water fish is named after its native lake, which is located in Chukotka, Russian Federation. This species and its relative, the long-finned char (Salvethymus svetovidovi) are limited to this remote lake, which is an impact crater. They are adapted to its very cold waters, which are generally just above the freezing point. The surface is frozen for about 10 months of the year. It may start to melt in the summer, but some years it never fully thaws. This fish spends most of the year in total darkness.
Salvelinus elgyticus is considered a threatened species by some authors, but it has not yet been evaluated by International Union for Conservation of Nature.