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Arctic char — printable fact sheet
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Arctic char
Salvelinus alpinus
The Arctic char is the northernmost freshwater fish in the world, living in lakes above 80 degrees north where the ice never entirely leaves and the growing season is a few weeks long. It is also one of the most variable vertebrates known. A single lake can hold several distinct…
Did you know?
- Arctic char is the only fish species found as far north as Ellesmere Island, one of the most northerly landmasses on Earth.
- Char in some High Arctic lakes have been recorded as effectively the only fish species present, so the population must split into different feeding roles just to fill the lake — the ecological vacancy drives the diversification. The orange-pink flesh comes from astaxanthin in the crustaceans they eat, exactly as in salmon. Char is a staple in Inuit food culture and has become a major farmed species precisely because it tolerates crowding and cold better than salmon.
What I learned
Draw the arctic char
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