Details
Salmo trutta
A salmonid native to Europe, with both freshwater-resident and sea-running forms. Brown or golden sides carry black and red spots.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Lives in cool, oxygen-rich rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Introductions have established it in North America and southern mountain streams.
The body is brown to golden with black and red spots along the sides. Sea-run fish become more silvery.
It holds territories near cover, stones, or current breaks, feeding most actively around dawn and dusk. Sea-run individuals can grow large.
It eats aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, small fish, and crustaceans. Larger trout often become more fish-eating.
Adults spawn in gravel beds during autumn or winter. Eggs develop in cold flowing water, and young grow in streams.
It is a major sport fish worldwide. In introduced ranges it can compete with or prey on native fishes.
