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Thymallus arcticus

(Pallas, 1776)

Arctic Grayling

G5Secure Found in 38 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105890
Element CodeAFCHA07010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderSalmoniformes
FamilySalmonidae
GenusThymallus
Other Common Names
Ombre arctique (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
Once there were four isolated stocks in North America, considered separate species: T. signifer, T. montanus, T. tricolor, and T. ontariensis. T. signifer now is considered synonymous with T. arcticus, and others as subspecies (Lee et al. 1980). Genus includes four species: one in Europe, two in Mongolia, and probably one widespread cross Asia and North America (Nelson 1984).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2015-06-02
Change Date1996-09-12
Rank Reasons
This species is secure in its large Holarctic range. See additional information for the Upper Missouri River Fluvial Population.
Range Extent Comments
Holarctic. Northern Eurasia and North America. North America: widespread in Arctic drainages from Hudson Bay west to Alaska, and in Arctic and Pacific drainages south to central Alberta and British Columbia; upper Missouri River drainage, Montana. Formerly in rivers flowing into lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior, northern Michigan (now extirpated). Introduced widely in western North America south to California, Arizona, and Nevada; locally common (Page and Burr 1991, Lee et al. 1980).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of subpopulations and locations.
Threat Impact Comments
Localized threats may exist, but on a range-wide scale no major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Open water of clear, cold (47-52 F) medium to large rivers and lakes. Adults move to pools after spawning, spend winter in deep water. Spawning takes place in creeks with gravel-bottomed riffles. Spawning in lakes is rare. Does not construct a redd. Lake populations can spawn in either inlet or outlet streams. At Deer Lake, Montana, most young apparently entered the lake from the outlet stream spawning area during the 6-7-month period of annual ice cover; a small proportion of the fry were lost over a downstream waterfall (Deleray and Kaya 1992). In contrast, young in populations that spawn in inlet streams generally enter lakes much sooner. The extended period of stream residence may be related to avoidance of predation by large conspecifics in Deer Lake (Deleray and Kaya 1992).

Ecology

Predators probably include other fishes and predatory birds (osprey, gulls, eagles) and mammals (mink, otter).

Reproduction

Spawns usually in early spring (May-June). Male establishes a territory. Normally lays 400-12,500 eggs (Moyle 1976), which hatch in 11-21 days. Sexually mature in 3-4 years. Lifespan usually less than 6 years but up to 10 years (Brown 1971).
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioSNANo
British ColumbiaS4Yes
AlbertaS2Yes
Yukon TerritoryS4Yes
SaskatchewanS5Yes
NunavutS3Yes
ManitobaS5Yes
Northwest TerritoriesS3Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
WashingtonSNANo
IdahoSNANo
New MexicoSNANo
MichiganSXYes
MontanaS1Yes
ArizonaSNANo
NevadaSNANo
AlaskaS5Yes
UtahSNANo
WyomingS2Yes
ColoradoSNANo
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
9 - Pollution——Insignificant/negligible or past
9.2 - Industrial & military effluents——Insignificant/negligible or past

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Roadless Areas (38)
Alaska (4)
AreaForestAcres
Kenai LakeChugach National Forest213,172
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
ResurrectionChugach National Forest224,615
Roaded DonutChugach National Forest968
Idaho (4)
AreaForestAcres
Italian PeakCaribou-Targhee National Forest141,158
Lemhi RangeSalmon-Challis National Forest308,533
Pioneer MountainsSawtooth National Forest119,563
Pioneer MountainsSalmon-Challis National Forest172,460
Montana (19)
AreaForestAcres
Benchmark Ra 1126Flathead National Forest6,318
Burnt MountainCuster National Forest10,698
Call MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest8,796
Cattle GulchBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest19,390
Coal Ridge Ra 1127Flathead National Forest15,429
Deadhorse Ridge Ra 1128Flathead National Forest23,648
East PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest145,082
ElkhornHelena National Forest75,468
Granulated MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest14,950
Hyalite - Porcupine - Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study AreaGallatin National Forest143,991
Italian PeakBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest90,401
North Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest52,227
SapphireBitterroot National Forest43,303
Silver KingBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest64,289
Stony MountainBitterroot National Forest44,057
Tash PeakBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest61,312
Thompson Seton RA 1483Flathead National Forest52,235
West Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest133,563
West PioneerBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest248,631
Utah (5)
AreaForestAcres
0419020Ashley National Forest355,684
418040Uinta National Forest1,702
Boulder Mtn. / Boulder Top / Deer LakeDixie National Forest110,690
High Uintas (UT)Wasatch-Cache National Forest102,398
LakesWasatch-Cache National Forest121,967
Wyoming (6)
AreaForestAcres
Beartooth Proposed WildernessShoshone National Forest16,837
Campbell LakeMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest7,088
Cloud Peak ContiguousBighorn National Forest113,757
French CreekMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest5,928
Snowy RangeMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest29,660
South Beartooth HighwayShoshone National Forest105,570
References (26)
  1. Brown, C. J. D. 1971. Fishes of Montana. Big Sky Books, the Endowment and Research Foundation, Montana State University, Bozeman. MT. 207 pp.
  2. Decker-Hess, Janet (Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks).1997. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC. May 1997.
  3. Deleray, M. A., and C. M. Kaya. 1992. Lakeward and downstream movements of age-0 arctic grayling (<i>Thymallus arcticus</i>) originating between a lake and a waterfall. Great Basin Naturalist 52:344-351.
  4. Fertig, Walter (Wyoming Natural Diversity Database). 1997. Review and annotation of fish and mussel watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC. August 1997.
  5. 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.
  6. Jelks, H. L., S. J. Walsh, N. M. Burkhead, S. Contreras-Balderas, E. Díaz-Pardo, D. A. Hendrickson, J. Lyons, N. E. Mandrak, F. McCormick, J. S. Nelson, S. P. Platania, B. A. Porter, C. B. Renaud, J. Jacobo Schmitter-Soto, E. B. Taylor, and M.L. Warren, Jr. 2008. Conservation status of imperiled North American freshwater and diadromous fishes. Fisheries 33(8):372-407.
  7. 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.
  8. Morrow, J.E. 1980. The freshwater fishes of Alaska. Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Anchorage, AK. 248 pp.
  9. Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
  10. Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. Revised and expanded. University of California Press, Berkeley. xv + 502 pp.
  11. NatureServe. No Date. Full species reconciliation of subspecies-by-watershed source data for freshwater fish, mussel and crayfish for use in the watershed distribution databases.
  12. Nelson, J. S. 1984. Fishes of the world. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. xv + 523 pp.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. Patton, Tim M. (University of Wyoming). 1997. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC. September 1997.
  19. 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.
  20. Rodriguez, M. A. 2002. Restricted movement in stream fish: the paradigm is complete, not lost. Ecology 83(1):1-13.
  21. Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp.
  22. Sigler, W. F., and R. R. Miller. 1963. Fishes of Utah. Utah State Department of Fish and Game, Salt Lake City, Utah, 203 pp.
  23. State Natural Heritage Data Centers. 1996a. Aggregated element occurrence data from all U.S. state natural heritage programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia. Science Division, The Nature Conservancy.
  24. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2014. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List the Upper Missouri River Distinct Population Segment of Arctic Grayling as an Endangered or Threatened Species; Proposed Rule. Federal Register 79(161):49384-49422.
  25. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2020. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Four Species Not Warranted for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species. Federal Register 85 (142): 44478-44483.
  26. Wydoski, R. S., and R. R. Whitney. 1979. Inland fishes of Washington. The University of Washington Press, Seattle. 220 pp.