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Concept
Salmonidae
Summary
Salmonidae sælˈmɒnᵻdiː is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes sælˈmɒnᵻfɔːrmiːz. It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefishes, graylings, taimens and lenoks, which are collectively known as the salmonids ("salmon-related fish"). The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), whose Latin name became that of its genus Salmo, is also the eponym of the family and order names.
Salmonids have a relatively primitive appearance among teleost fish, with the pelvic fins being placed far back, and an adipose fin towards the rear of the back. They have slender bodies with rounded scales and forked tail fins, and their mouths contain a single row of sharp teeth. Although the smallest salmonid species is just long for adults, most salmonids are much larger, with the largest reaching .
All salmonids are migratory fish that spawn in shallow fresh water of the headwaters of rivers and creeks, but migrate downstream upon maturity and spend most of their adult lives at larger waterbodies. Many salmonid species are euryhaline and migrate to the sea or brackish estuaries as soon as they approach adulthood, returning to the upper-stream rivers only to reproduce. Such sea-run life cycle is described as anadromous, and other freshwater salmonids that migrate purely between lakes and rivers are considered potamodromous. Salmonids are carnivorous predators of the middle food chain, feeding on small crustaceans, aquatic insects, tadpoles and smaller fish, and in turn being preyed upon by larger predators. Many species of salmonids are thus considered keystone organisms important for both freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems due to the biomass transfer provided by their mass migration from oceanic to inland waterbodies.
Current salmonids comprise three lineages, taxonomically treated as subfamilies: Coregoninae (freshwater whitefishes), Thymallinae (graylings), and Salmoninae (trout, salmon, char, taimens and lenoks).
Official source
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