Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Coregonus vandesius (Coregonus vandesius), recorded as Endangered
Coregonus vandesius (Coregonus vandesius). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Coregonus vandesius

Coregonus vandesius

Coregonus vandesius, the vendace, is a freshwater whitefish found in the United Kingdom.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Coregonus vandesius
Taxonomy
Salmoniformes · Salmonidae · Coregonus

Appearance

Coregonus vandesius, the vendace, is a freshwater whitefish found in the United Kingdom.

Range and habitat

The vendace has only ever been known as a native species at four sites in Britain: Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water in the English Lake District, and the Castle Loch and Mill Loch in Lochmaben, Scotland. The fish had not been recorded at Bassenthwaite Lake since 2001, but was recently rediscovered in 2014. For example, a water treatment works near the lake had been overflowing with raw sewage at times of high water levels, causing severe algae blooms that were depleting the lake's oxygen supply, but the plant was to be renovated in 2004 to prevent this.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet

Salmonids need cold, oxygenated water and a clean gravel or open-lake feeding ground. Endemic whitefishes collapse when the lake is eutrophied or fished out.

In crisis

Population surveys since the 1960s have revealed a steady decline, and the fish is no longer present in some of its previous habitats, but is still present in Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "endangered".

Coregonus vandesius is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Coregonus vandesius, Wikidata item Q2997229. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Riedling (Coregonus danneri), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Riedling

Coregonus danneri
Photograph of Atlantic whitefish (Coregonus huntsmani), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Atlantic whitefish

Coregonus huntsmani
Photograph of Shortnose cisco (Coregonus reighardi), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Shortnose cisco

Coregonus reighardi
Photograph of Sand Whitefish (Coregonus arenicolus), recorded as EndangeredEN

Sand Whitefish

Coregonus arenicolus

Quick answers

What is Coregonus vandesius?
Coregonus vandesius, the vendace, is a freshwater whitefish found in the United Kingdom.
What is the conservation status of Coregonus vandesius?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Coregonus vandesius. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Coregonus vandesius live?
The vendace has only ever been known as a native species at four sites in Britain: Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water in the English Lake District, and the Castle Loch and Mill Loch in Lochmaben, Scotland.
Why is Coregonus vandesius in crisis?
Population surveys since the 1960s have revealed a steady decline, and the fish is no longer present in some of its previous habitats, but is still present in Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Coregonus vandesius?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Coregonus vandesius a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.