Click here to view an interactive map of the Northern Ireland
dataset as currently collated by CEDaR. The map is generated
through the NBN Gateway using their Interactive Mapping Tool.
Coregonus autumnalis pollan Thompson Pollan is a glacial relict
of an Alaskan-Siberian whitefish species and is not found
anywhere in Western Europe outside of Ireland. It is a good
example of the importance of correct taxonomy in determining
conservation importance. For most of the twentieth century,
pollan was regarded as one or other of two coregonid species
found in Britain. However, molecular studies in the 1970s showed
conclusively that it was C. autumnalis, but that there were
sufficient differences to regard it as a distinct subspecies C.
a. pollan. In a recent revision, Kottelat has suggested that it
should be designated as a full species C. pollan rather than a
subspecies, which would make it an endemic Irish species.
Further work is required to validate this proposal. Irrespective
of its exact classification, pollan