Hucho taimen

Hucho taimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Salmoniformes
Family:	Salmonidae
Genus:	Hucho
Species:	H. taimen
Binomial name
Hucho taimen Pallas, 1773

The Taimen or Hucho trout (Hucho taimen) is a freshwater fish found in the former USSR and Asia, in the Caspian Sea and Arctic drainages of the Amur river. It can grow up to 200 pounds, and has been known to jump out of the water to eat squirrels and ducks. The IGFA world record is a little under 100 lb or 45 kg. [1]

According to some popular Chinese folklore, a type of Taimen lives in Kanasi Lake in China and can weigh up to 4 tons. Scientific evidence has yet to verify the claim.[2]

A survey by biologist Deng Qixiang of the Min River in China's Sichuan province found that only 16 of the 40 species recorded in the 1950s are to be found today. The Sichuan Taimen, a protected species, has not been seen in one stretch of river, the Wenchuan, for an entire decade. Another fish, the shad, called “the beauty of the water” by China’s early poets and known today for its economic value, has also disappeared. [3]

References

• "Hucho taimen". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 30 January. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2005). "Hucho taimen" in FishBase. 10 2005 version.