Animals of Lake Baikal

Amphipods or crustacea

The body cover can be completely smooth or with a variety of «weapons.» Amphipods inhabit all water body, including great depth. Most species are omnivorous, feeding on detritus, algae, oligochetes and other small animals. Only some of them are predators and caviar parasites.

Golomyanka

• Small oil-fish (golomyanka)
• Big oil-fish (golomyanka)

It is Baikal endemic. Oil-fish live all over Baikal in the in the thickness of open waters and up to maximum depths.. It's body is naked, with scales. The body of a big oil-fish contains about 44% of fat, the small oil-fish - up to 9%. The maturity starts from 3 years. Both are ovoviviparous, give birth to live larvae, the number of which to 2-3 thousands. This fish is slow-moving. It does not for stocks. Length - up to 21 cm. Maximum age - 8 years.

Epishura baikalskaya

It is Baikal endemic, the only specie of zooplankton in the lake which lives in the thickness of Baikal water at all depths. The crustacean is up to 2 mm, the major consumer of planktonic algae and bacteria. Epishura is the food for plankton-eating fish and pelagic amphipod macrohectopus.

Oligochetes

One of the dominant groups of benthic inhabitants of the open lake. Most form variety is found on soft soils from the water's edge to the maximum depths. Few of Oligochetes - predators, the vast majority - detritophagous (eat soil). They are the food for other animals.

Sferonostok plum Shaeronostoc

(Nostoc) pruniforme (Af) Elenk.The colonial blue-green algae. It lives in shallow water, gulfs and bays of Lake Baikal.

Sculpins / bullheads

Most representatives of Baikal fish fauna. 32 species of the fish are known, 30 of which are endemic. They live In the lake from the coastal zone and at the maximum depth. Most bullheads have bottom lifestyle. The spawning period is stretched The bullheads sizes are different from 5 to 30 cm Maximum age -12 years. Most representatives of Baikal fish fauna.