There is a fish species that was once thought to be extinct 15 years ago, but scientists have discovered that it is still thriving in the wild.
The Houting is a fish found at the mouth of the North Sea – an ancient body of water located on the continental shelf of Europe. This species was officially listed as extinct in 2008 and is included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of threatened species.
The Houting, known by its Latin name Coregonus oxyrinchus, is a small fish that once swam in rivers throughout Europe before rumors of its extinction surfaced.
The Houting fish, a small fish that once swam in rivers throughout Europe before rumors of its extinction.
In the mid-20th century, as fishing practices advanced and environmental changes occurred, Houting became less frequently seen in rivers than before. This led many to believe that the Houting was extinct. Subsequently, the IUCN listed this fish as extinct, a mistake that scientists have only recently rectified after 15 years.
Recently, researchers from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the Natural History Museum in London extracted DNA from several Houting specimens preserved in the museum, some of which are up to 250 years old. They then compared the DNA of these museum specimens with that of several of its existing relatives, including the European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus).
The results revealed almost no genetic differences between them. They were genetically similar enough to be considered part of the same species. In a scientific study recently published in the journal BMC Ecology and Evolution, the researchers described how they isolated mitochondrial DNA from the fish.
The Houting and European whitefish have surprisingly similar DNA.
Ultimately, all the Houting samples tested were grouped with the European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus).
“European whitefish are quite common in Western and Northern Europe, both in freshwater lakes and rivers, estuaries, and the sea. Since we did not find any species differences between the past Houting and today’s European whitefish, we do not consider this Houting species to be extinct,” said Rob Kroes, author of the study from the University of Amsterdam.
Looking back in time, why did people mistakenly believe that the Houting was declared extinct?
Rob Kroes explains: “There is often confusion regarding whether some animal species are the same species or not, especially with fish. They often exhibit a lot of morphological variation within a species. In this case, the two fish species are completely different, they have different appearances. However, their DNA is surprisingly similar, possibly because the river environment is no longer suitable for them and they require a new habitat to thrive.“
