Cladus: Eukaryota Coregonus fera, commonly called the true fera is a presumed extinct freshwater fish from Lake Geneva in Switzerland and France. The status of the fera is disputed. In 1950 Emile Dottrens described Coregonus fera as both native to Lake Geneva and Lake Constance. The coregonines from Lake Constance were named Sandfelchen. In 1997 Maurice Kottelat made a revision and used the name Coregonus fera for the fera and Coregonus arenicolus for the Sandfelchen. The fera reached a length between 35 and 40 centimetres. Biology The fera was a benthopelagic freshwater fish, that means it occurred near the ground in very deep waters. It was fed from zooplankton. The spawning was from February to mid-March. Extinction Together with the equally extinct Gravenche (Coregonus hiemalis) it was one of the most caught freshwater fishes in the Lake Geneva. In 1890 the fishing quota of these two fishes made 68% of all caught fishes in Lake Geneva. Due to overexploitation in combination with the heavily hybridisation with introduced coregonus species it became extremely scarce in the 1920s. It was still present in 1950 but was not found again in 1958. References * Maurice Kottelat: European Freshwater Fisches. An heuristic checklist of the freshwater fishes of Europe (exclusive of former USSR), with an introduction for non - systematists and comments on nomenclature and conservation; Biologia: Section Zoology vol. 52/5, Slovak Academic Press, Bratislava 1997, ISBN 8085665875
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