And all of the leading candidates do. Lota lota. Catostomus catostomus.
Catostomus commersoni. Esox lucius. Rhinichthys cataractae. Couesius
plumbeus.
> Anyway, since you're all serious and scientific about it, here's a source for
> the burbot's cold water requirements:
>
> 1970. Plant, R., Page, J., et al. Whole Lota Love ("You need coolin', baby I
> ain't foolin' "), Led Zeppelin II, Swan Song Records, London.
Ha! I think I just found the epigraph to my burbot chapter!
Anyhow, here's what Tim Berra -- author of *Freshwater Fish Distribution* --
has to say:
"Both L. lota and C. catostomus certainly have extensive native
distributions in NA. I would also consider C. commersoni as a candidate for
most widespread. Likewise Aplodinotus grunniens has the largest latitudinal
range of any North American freshwater fish from Hudson Bay to Guatemala.
"What you could do is calculate the area of the distribution from same-scale
maps such as those found in Becker's Fishes of Wisconsin. There is a map
tool with a little wheel that runs around the distribution and you can read
off the area or distance around, I think. Let me know if you calculate the
largest distribution. I'm betting on C. commersoni."
I don't have one of these maps tools, but eye-balling the maps says...
Too close to call!
Chris
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