Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Mountain Whitefish

Prosopium williamsoni

(Girard, 1856)

Mountain Whitefish

G5Secure Found in 59 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104696
Element CodeAFCHA03060
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderSalmoniformes
FamilySalmonidae
GenusProsopium
Other Common Names
Ménomini des montagnes (FR)
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
P. oregonium appears to be a junior synonym of P. williamsoni (Lee et al. 1980).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2022-09-21
Change Date1996-09-12
Edition Date2022-09-21
Edition AuthorsYoung, B. (2022)
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
This species is widespread, abundant, and does not appear to be declining.
Range Extent Comments
Mackenzie River drainage (Arctic basin), Northwest Territories, south through western Canada and northwestern U.S. in Pacific, Hudson Bay, and upper Missouri River basins, to Truckee River drainage, Nevada, and Sevier River drainage, Utah; common (Page and Burr 1991).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of subpopulations and locations (GBIF 2022).
Threat Impact Comments
Localized threats such as dams exist, but on a range-wide scale no major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Cold mountain lakes (to depths of at least 10 m) and fast, clear or silty streams with large pools. Stream populations spawn in riffles over gravel and small rubble. Lake populations move into tributaries to spawn or seek gravel shallows in lake. Eggs stick to bottom substrate. No nest is constructed.

Reproduction

Spawns late October-early November at 40-45 F in northern Idaho, November-early December in Great Basin. Eggs hatch in about 5 months at temperatures above 35 F. Sexually mature at 3-4 years; average longevity 7-8 years (Wydoski and Whitney 1979, Simpson and Wallace 1982, Sigler and Sigler 1987).
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Northwest TerritoriesSUYes
British ColumbiaS5Yes
Yukon TerritoryS3Yes
AlbertaS5Yes
SaskatchewanSNRYes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MontanaS4Yes
WyomingS5Yes
UtahS3Yes
IdahoS3Yes
WashingtonS5Yes
OregonS4Yes
CaliforniaS3Yes
NevadaS3Yes
ColoradoS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (59)
California (2)
AreaForestAcres
Hoover - NorthHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest1,574
Iceberg - Mill CreekHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest26,988
Idaho (3)
AreaForestAcres
PalisadesCaribou-Targhee National Forest122,002
Peace RockBoise National Forest191,734
SeceshPayette National Forest248,088
Montana (16)
AreaForestAcres
Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - SwanLolo National Forest118,485
Buckhorn Ridge (MT)Kootenai National Forest34,716
Cabin Creek Wildlife Management Area OcdGallatin National Forest35,048
East PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest145,082
Freezeout MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest97,305
Gallatin FringeGallatin National Forest51,571
HoodooLolo National Forest105,162
Hyalite - Porcupine - Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study AreaGallatin National Forest143,991
MadisonGallatin National Forest127,859
North Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest52,227
QuiggLolo National Forest67,267
Silver KingBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest64,289
Silver KingLolo National Forest12,816
Stony MountainLolo National Forest32,796
West Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest133,563
West PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest248,631
Oregon (7)
AreaForestAcres
DeadhorseWallowa-Whitman National Forest10,690
French Pete (a)Willamette National Forest1,668
Imnaha FaceWallowa-Whitman National Forest29,575
Maiden PeakDeschutes National Forest26,432
Mclennon MountainWillamette National Forest8,085
Sheep DivideWallowa-Whitman National Forest16,201
Snake RiverWallowa-Whitman National Forest31,229
Utah (13)
AreaForestAcres
0401023Ashley National Forest8,352
0401037Ashley National Forest1,166
418001Uinta National Forest5,697
418002Uinta National Forest19,152
418004Uinta National Forest16,661
Burch CreekWasatch-Cache National Forest6,938
High Uintas (UT)Wasatch-Cache National Forest102,398
LakesWasatch-Cache National Forest121,967
Mahogany RangeWasatch-Cache National Forest11,409
Mt. Logan NorthWasatch-Cache National Forest18,930
Mt. Logan SouthWasatch-Cache National Forest17,014
NoblettsWasatch-Cache National Forest3,116
Right Hand Fork LoganWasatch-Cache National Forest15,023
Washington (5)
AreaForestAcres
Black CanyonOkanogan National Forest9,681
Blue SlideWenatchee National Forest17,505
Eagle RockMt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest34,064
TaneumWenatchee National Forest26,140
Thorp Mtn.Wenatchee National Forest22,717
Wyoming (13)
AreaForestAcres
Grayback RidgeBridger-Teton National Forest295,113
Gros Ventre MountainsBridger-Teton National Forest106,418
Little Sheep MountainBridger-Teton National Forest14,192
Mosquito Lake - Seven LakesBridger-Teton National Forest51,950
Pacific Creek - Blackrock CreekBridger-Teton National Forest24,658
PalisadesTarghee National Forest1,121
Sleeping GiantShoshone National Forest5,176
South ForkShoshone National Forest64,903
Spread Creek - Gros Ventre RiverBridger-Teton National Forest166,097
Teton Corridor TrailheadsBridger-Teton National Forest286
Wapiti Valley NorthShoshone National Forest18,345
West Slope TetonsTarghee National Forest47,448
Wilderness Study AreaTarghee National Forest51,961
References (29)
  1. Baxter, G. T., and J. R. Simon. 1970. Wyoming fishes. Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 168 pp.
  2. Brown, C. J. D. 1971. Fishes of Montana. Big Sky Books, the Endowment and Research Foundation, Montana State University, Bozeman. MT. 207 pp.
  3. Gipson, Rob. Jackson Regional Fisheries Supervisor, Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Personal communication, 2002.
  4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2022. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2022).
  5. Gould, Dr. William (Montana Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit. Montana State University). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. April 2000.
  6. Holden, Paul B. (Bio/West, Utah). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Pilar Hernandez, ABI. November 2000.
  7. Holton, G. D., and H. E. Johnson. 1996. A field guide to Montana fishes. 2nd edition. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Montana State Parks and wildlife Interpretive Association, Helena, Montana. 104 pp.
  8. Lance, M. J., and C. V. Baxter. 2011. Abundance, production, and tissue composition of mountain whitefish (<i>Prosopium williamsoni</i>) in a Central Idaho wilderness stream. Northwest Science 85(3):445-454.
  9. Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
  10. Master, L. L. 1996. Synoptic national assessment of comparative risks to biological diversity and landscape types: species distributions. Summary Progress Report submitted to Environmental Protection Agency. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia. 60 pp.
  11. Master, L. L. and A. L. Stock. 1998. Synoptic national assessment of comparative risks to biological diversity and landscape types: species distributions. Summary Report submitted to Environmental Protection Agency. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA. 36 pp.
  12. Miller, W. H., H. M. Tyus, and C. A. Carlson. 1982. Fishes of the upper Colorado system: present and future. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. 131 pp.
  13. Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
  14. Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. Revised and expanded. University of California Press, Berkeley. xv + 502 pp.
  15. Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
  16. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
  17. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
  18. Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
  19. Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
  20. Remmick, Ron (Regional Fisheries Supervisor, Wyoming Game and Fish Department). 2001. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Pilar Hernandez, NatureServe. December, 2001.
  21. Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
  22. Rodriguez, M. A. 2002. Restricted movement in stream fish: the paradigm is complete, not lost. Ecology 83(1):1-13.
  23. Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp.
  24. Sigler, W. F., and J. W. Sigler. 1987. Fishes of the Great Basin: a natural history. University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada. xvi + 425 pp.
  25. Simpson, J. and R. Wallace. 1982. Fishes of Idaho. The University Press of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. 238 pp.
  26. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2007. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; 90-day finding on a petition to list the mountain whitefish (<i>Prosopium williamsoni</i>) in the Big Lost River, ID, as threatened or endangered. Federal Register 72(204):59983- 59989.
  27. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2010. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; 12-month finding on a petition to list the mountain whitefish in the Big Lost River, Idaho, as endangered or threatened. Federal Register 75(65):17352-17363.
  28. Wallace, Richard L. (Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.
  29. Wydoski, R. S., and R. R. Whitney. 1979. Inland fishes of Washington. The University of Washington Press, Seattle. 220 pp.