Page 5

OVERVIEW OF CHANGES IN THE 
WISCONSIN FISH FAUNA 
B ecker (1983) provided accounts of 157 
species (with separate accounts for two 
nominal subspecies of lake trout 
(Salvelinus namaycush)), of which 146 were 
native and 11 were established non-natives by 
our criteria (table 1). Nine of the native species, 
skipjack herring (Alosa chrysochloris), ghost 
shiner (Notropis buchanani), ironcolor shiner 
(Notropis chalybaeus), creek chubsucker 
(Erimyzon oblongus), black redhorse (Moxostoma 
duquesnei), longjaw cisco (Coregonus alpenae), 
deepwater cisco (Coregonus johannae), blackfin 
cisco (Coregonus nigripinnis), and shortnose cisco 
(Coregonus reighardi), were considered extir- 
pated. Becker (1983) excluded two species previ- 
ously reported from the state, pallid sturgeon 
(Scaphirhynchus albus) (Priegel and Wirth 1971) 
and blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) (Greene 
1935), because of an absence of valid records. 
He also listed 10 transient non-native species 
that had been introduced into state waters 
without success. 
Based on our analyses, as of 1999, we recog- 
nize 147 native species, 14 established non- 
native species, and a minimum of 19 transient 
non-native species (table 1). Two new native 
species have been recognized, southern brook 
lamprey (Ichthyomyzon gagei) and channel shiner 
(Notropis wickliffi). One former native species, 
the extirpated longjaw cisco (Coregonus alpenae), 
is now considered merely a distinctive form of 
shortjaw cisco (Coregonus zenithicus). Hybrid 
northern redbelly X finescale dace (Phoxinus eos 
X Phoxinus neogaeus) could represent an addi- 
tional unisexual clonal species, but genetic 
analyses of Wisconsin populations are lacking 
for confirmation. Two species thought by Becker 
(1983) to be extirpated, skipjack herring (Alosa 
chrysochloris) and black redhorse (Moxostoma 
duquesnei), have been rediscovered but are rare. 
Six species, ghost shiner (Notropis buchanani), 
ironcolor shiner (Notrpois chalybaeus), creek 
chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus), deepwater cisco 
(Coregonus johannae), blackfin cisco (Coregonus 
nigripinnis), and shortnose cisco (Coregonus 
reighardi), are still considered extirpated. Three 
endangered species, striped shiner (Luxilus (for- 
merly Notropis) chrysocephalus), pallid shiner 
(Notropis amnis), and slender madtom (Noturus 
exilis), have declined greatly in distribution and 
abundance since the late 1970s and are nearly 
extirpated from the state. Five of the 14 estab- 
lished non-native species are new: kokanee 
salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) (the lake-dwelling 
form of the sockeye salmon; considered a tran- 
sient non-native by Becker (1983)), threespine 
stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), white perch 
(Morone americana), ruffe (Gymnocephalus 
cernuus), and round goby (Neogobius melanosto- 
mus). The 20 transient non-native species listed 
in this publication include 9 listed by Becker 
(1983), 9 not listed previously from the state 
(including the blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)), 
and 2 tentatively considered established by 
Becker (1983), the red shiner (Cyprinella (for- 
merly Notropis) lutrensis) and pink salmon 
(Oncorhynchus gorbuscha). 
Robins et al. (1991a) and Kendall (1997) 
changed the scientific names of 16 native and 2 
non-native Wisconsin fishes from those used in 
Becker (1983). Mayden et al. (1992) proposed 
additional name changes for five species and 
two families (table 2). Three of the Mayden 
et al. (1992) species names and both family 
names are likely to be accepted in the next 
version of the American Fisheries Society list of 
North American fish names.