Salvelinus grayi
Salvelinus grayi | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Salmoniformes |
Family: | Salmonidae |
Genus: | Salvelinus |
Species: | S. grayi
|
Binomial name | |
Salvelinus grayi | |
Synonyms | |
Salmo grayi (Günther, 1862)[3] |
Salvelinus grayi, also called Gray's char[r], Lough Melvin char[r] or freshwater herring[4][5], is a species of lacustrine char fish in the family Salmonidae.[6][7]
It only found in Lough Melvin, Ireland.[8]
Taxonomy
Name
The English word "char[r]" is thought to derive from Old Irish ceara/cera meaning "[blood] red,"[9] referring to its pink-red underside.[10][11] This would also connect with its Welsh name torgoch, "red belly."[12]
Scientific name
The describer, Albert Günther, named the fish after his longtime colleague John Edward Gray.
Biology
Salvelinus grayi is benthopelagic, living at 10–30 m (30–100 ft), except during spawning season. It feeds on water fleas (crustacean of the order Cladocera). It spawns in November, in shallow rocky areas. Its maximum length is 25 cm (10 inches). It can be distinguished from other char by the whitish spots on upper flank and caudal and dorsal fins.[13]
Conservation
Recorded numbers in Lough Melvin declined from 33 in 1975 and 42 in 1986 to only 12 in 2001, and the species is considered critically endangered. Common rudd introduction and eutrophication are blamed for the decline.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Salvelinus grayi". www.iucnredlist.org.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Salvelinus grayi (Günther, 1862)". www.marinespecies.org.
- ^ Couch, Jonathan (28 February 1877). "A History of the Fishes of the British Islands". G. Bell – via Google Books.
- ^ Thompson, Wm. (1841). "Notes on British Char, Salmo Umbla, Linn., S. Salvelinus, Don". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 6. R. and J. E. Taylor: 444 – via Google Books.
- ^ MacMahon, Alexander Francis Magri (28 February 2018). "Fishlore: British Freshwater Fishes". Penguin Books – via Google Books.
- ^ Thompson, Wm. (1841). "Notes on British Char, Salmo Umbla, Linn., S. Salvelinus, Don". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 6. R. and J. E. Taylor: 446 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Salmon and Trout Magazine". Salmon and Trout Assoc. 28 February 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Salmon and Trout Magazine". Salmon and Trout Assoc. 28 February 1964 – via Google Books.
- ^ edil@qub.ac.uk. "eDIL - Irish Language Dictionary". edil.qub.ac.uk.
- ^ Skeat, Walter W. (15 February 2013). "An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language". Courier Corporation – via Google Books.
- ^ Various. "Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)". Library of Alexandria – via Google Books.
- ^ Weekley, Ernest (5 March 2013). "An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English". Courier Corporation – via Google Books.
- ^ "Salvelinus grayi summary page". FishBase.