The weather outside might be frightful ❄️, but that’s just delightful for Day 11’s fish, the coldwater-loving brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) #GreatLakes #25DaysofFishmas 
Brook trout is part of the Salmonidae (salmon) family + genus Salvelinus (chars). Most char may be identified by light spots over a darker body, while "true" trout typically have dark spots on a lighter body #25DaysofFishmas
Brook trout’s species name “fontinalis" comes from Latin for "of a spring or fountain" in reference to the cold, clear stream habitats they prefer #25DaysofFishmas
"Brookies" are the only trout native to much of the eastern U.S./Canada., but have been introduced outside their native range to the western U.S. + to every continent (except Antarctica) through intentional stocking for fishing #25DaysofFishmas
And if you had any doubt about their popularity, brook trout is the state fish of 9 U.S. states (Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia + West Virginia) as well as the provincial fish of Nova Scotia #25DaysofFishmas
Brook trout have narrow temperature ranges in which they can live/reproduce, and are particularly threatened by a changing climate. One study found their distribution in WI may shrink by 44% even under moderate warming scenarios #25DaysofFishmas wicci.wisc.edu/Fishery.php
A "Coaster” is not just what good #fishmas party guests use: Coasters are a migratory form of brook trout that spend part of their lives in the #GreatLakes, and live longer/grow to larger sizes than stream-resident brookies #25DaysofFishmas seagrant.umn.edu/newsletter/200…
Coasters were once the most abundant native salmonid in @LakeSuperior tributaries, but a combo of overfishing + habitat loss due to wide-scale logging reduced their numbers so much that by the mid-1900s, only a handful of remnant stocks still existed. #25DaysofFishmas
