Draft:Lake Christine Trout

The Lake Christine Trout or Kendall's Trout is an extinct species of char or subspecies of the Silver trout endemic to Christine lake of Stark, New Hampshire.

Description

The Lake Christine Trout was described as having similar proportions to the silver trout, but with a more elegant shape. The coloration is described as being rather different from the silver trout, with the Christine lake trout having been described as having a purple color on the sides and top alongside many vibrant red spots and fins.

Taxonomy

The population found in Christine lake may be a subspecies or taxonomically distinct from the silver trout. This is indicated in the final pages of W.C.Kendall, who published a famous monograph on New England chars. In the final parts of his writings he notes the phenotypic differences and suggests that this population may be a subspecies or the silver trout or possibly being taxonomically distinct from the silver trout.

Distribution

The Lake Christine Trout was endemic to Lake Christine, in Stark, New Hampshire. It inhabited the deeper waters of Lake Christine and was isolated from most other bodies of water. Lake Christine was connected to Lake Hitchcock during the Pleistocene. It is thought that this species had its origins in Lake Hitchcock and the Lake Christine Trout is a population of silver trout that was separated as Lake Hitchcock drained.

Extinction

As fishermen introduced foreign species to Lake Christine such as yellow perch and lake trout. Due to these changes the Lake Christine Trout was overwhelmed by the changes to the ecosystem. Predation from other fish species as well as niche competition and hybridization worked to diminish the population of Lake Christine Trout until extinction.

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