Also known as a gwyniad, powan or shelly, the common whitefish is a member of the salmon family. It has a silver coloured streamlined body and darker coloured fins. It may reach up to 73 cm in length. Its tail fin is forked. Coregonus lavaretus has a small mouth and a protruding upper jaw.

Coregonus lavaretus is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of its genus Coregonus.

In northern Fennoscandia, European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus (L.)) is a highly polymorphic species displaying adaptive radiations into partially reproductively isolated and thus genetically differentiated sympatric morphs utilizing the planktivorous and benthivorous food niche in many lakes.