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Kirikuchi char
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Salmoniformes
Family:	Salmonidae
Genus:	Salvelinus
Species:	S. leucomaenis
Subspecies:	S. l. japonicus
Trinomial name
Salvelinus leucomaenis japonicus Ōshima, 1961
Synonyms
Salvelinus japonicus

The Kirikuchi char (Salvelinus leucomaenis japonicus) is a freshwater fish in the family Salmonidae. It is endemic to the Kii Peninsula of central Honshu in Japan. It is the southernmost population of the char genus Salvelinus and is considered a relict in its region. It is usually considered a subspecies of the whitespotted char Salvelinus leucomaenis but was listed as a separate species in the IUCN Red List (1996).

Other subspecies of the whitespotted char S. leucomaenis have, however, been introduced in the area of the kirikuchi char, which has led to extensive hybridization. Kirikuchi char remain in two separate headwater streams of the Totsu River system, and they retain little genetic variation.

The Kirikuchi Char is endangered due to human disturbances, including degradation and overharvesting. Additionally, the species continues to become more endangered due to the loss of genetic diversity from hybridization.

Up to 60% of the diet of Kirikuchi char is made up of orthopterans driven into the water by nematomorph parasites. The chars' growth rates are highest in autumn, when nematomorphs influence the behaviour of their hosts to drown themselves.

References

1. ^ Kottelat, M. (1996). "Salvelinus japonicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T19876A9100290. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T19876A9100290.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
2. ^ Sato T; Demise T; Kubota H; Nagoshi M; Watanabe K (2010) Hybridization, Isolation, and Low Genetic Diversity of Kirikuchi Char, the Southernmost Populations of the Genus Salvelinus Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 39 2010, 1758 - 1774.
3. Sato, Takuya; Watanabe, Katsutoshi; Arizono, Masahiro; Mori, Seiichi; Nagoshi, Makoto; Harada, Yasushi (2008). "Intergeneric Hybridization between Sympatric Kirikuchi Char and Red-Spotted Masu Salmon in a Small Japanese Mountain Stream". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 28 (2): 547–556. Bibcode:2008NAJFM..28..547S. doi:10.1577/M06-270.1. ISSN 1548-8675.
4. Sato, Takuya; Watanabe, Katsutoshi; Kanaiwa, Minoru; Niizuma, Yasuaki; Harada, Yasushi; Lafferty, Kevin D. (2011). "Nematomorph parasites drive energy flow through a riparian ecosystem". Ecology. 92 (1): 201–207. Bibcode:2011Ecol...92..201S. doi:10.1890/09-1565.1. hdl:2433/139443. ISSN 1939-9170. PMID 21560690. S2CID 20274754.

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