Oncorhynchus nerka kawamurae
Encyclopedia
The black kokanee or kunimasu in Japanese
, is a Japanese salmon
subspecies
which scientists had thought had gone extinct in 1940, but was discovered to still have a living population in 2010.
The fish was thought to have gone extinct when a hydroelectric project made Lake Tazawa
, its native lake, more acidic in 1940. Prior to that, 100,000 eggs were thought to have been transferred to Lake Saiko, which is located about 310 miles (500 kilometers) south of Lake Tazawa, but this attempt to save the fish had been thought to have been unsuccessful. However, in 2010, Tetsuji Nakabo, a professor at Kyoto University
, said that his team of researchers had found living members of the subspecies in Saiko Lake.
The fish is dark olive with black spots on its back, and grows to approximately one foot (30 centimeters) in length.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, is a Japanese salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
which scientists had thought had gone extinct in 1940, but was discovered to still have a living population in 2010.
The fish was thought to have gone extinct when a hydroelectric project made Lake Tazawa
Lake Tazawa
is a caldera lake in Semboku, Akita Prefecture, northern Japan. It is the deepest lake in Japan . Because of its depth, it never freezes....
, its native lake, more acidic in 1940. Prior to that, 100,000 eggs were thought to have been transferred to Lake Saiko, which is located about 310 miles (500 kilometers) south of Lake Tazawa, but this attempt to save the fish had been thought to have been unsuccessful. However, in 2010, Tetsuji Nakabo, a professor at Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
, said that his team of researchers had found living members of the subspecies in Saiko Lake.
The fish is dark olive with black spots on its back, and grows to approximately one foot (30 centimeters) in length.