Houting, a salmonid fish, was thought to be extinct. However, a new study suggests otherwise after it extracted its DNA and compared it to the European whitefish.
Houting Fish Not Extinct
The houting, a fish species that inhabited the estuaries of the North Sea and was thought to be extinct, has been discovered to exist still. In a recent study, scientists from the Natural History Museum in London and the University of Amsterdam collected DNA from numerous houtings preserved in the museum, some of which were over 250 years old. They then constructed a phylogenetic tree by comparing the DNA of these fish with DNA from several closely related species that are currently living. The biologists detected virtually no genetic differences between houting (Coregonus oxyrinchus) and European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus). Similar to European whitefish, houting has been documented. Houting is, therefore, not extinct because it is still widespread. The European whitefish is fairly common in both freshwater rivers and saltwater in Western and Northern Europe.
First author Rob Kroes of the University of Amsterdam remarked that they do not consider the houting extinct because they found no difference between the houting of the past and today's European whitefish.
How is it possible that in 2008, the houting was formally proclaimed extinct? According to Kroes, it frequently happens that people are unsure whether some animals belong to a single species or not, particularly if fish are involved. Within a species, they frequently show great variety in physical characteristics.
Due to the length of the snout and the quantity of gill rakers, biologists have long believed that houting is a distinct species from the European whitefish in this scenario. But it is just not accurate to suggest that houting is a separate species based on these characteristics. Their DNA analysis unequivocally demonstrates that it isn't, per Kroes.
The official Latin species name needs to be changed, it seems. However, more investigation on the DNA of the dried fish from 1754 is necessary before the name can be changed. The researchers believe it will be challenging to accomplish this.
The IUCN states that the North Sea houting is extinct. However, numerous European nature laws require the protection of both houting and European whitefish. As a result, we are preserving a currently swimming extinct species, Kroes added, pointing out that the status of various coregonids is a mess.
What Is Houting?
Houting belongs to the Salmonidae family. Like other salmon, it spends the earliest part of its life in the same watercourse where it spawns.
The North Sea houting is born and raised in the Wadden Sea but migrates to larger waterways in the fall to spawn. Salmonids typically spawn where the bottom width exceeds 4 meters in the lower and middle reaches of the watercourses.
According to studies, houting larvae cannot thrive in the salty Wadden Sea water. The fry's physiology does not alter until they are between 30 and 40 mm in length, allowing them to tolerate the transition from freshwater to saltwater.
It is believed that the freshly hatched fry must be brought away to locations with stagnant water for the houting to survive. This could be in places like smaller lakes and wide river bends, where the early stages of growth occur. The fry migrates to the Wadden Sea, where it grows up after reaching a length of 30 to 40 mm in April or May.
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