Bony fish · Salmoniformes · Salmonidae

Arctic Charr

Salvelinus alpinus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Arctic charr — known in Spanish as salvelino, trucha alpina or trucha ártica — is an anadromous fish of the family Salmonidae native to alpine lakes and the coastal waters of the Arctic and subarctic regions. No other freshwater fish is found so far north.

Weight

up to 15 kg

Size

up to 1.1 m

Lifespan

40 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

FreshwaterCarnivore Fish Freshwater

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Fun facts

distribuciónIt is one of the northernmost freshwater and brackish-water fish on the planet, found even in Arctic lakes that stay frozen much of the year.
It has anadromous populations that run down to the sea and populations that spend their whole lives in a lake, differing widely in size and colour.
The colour changes dramatically with locality, time of year and stage of sexual development.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)
Habitat & environment: Cold lakes and rivers of the Arctic and sub-Arctic, and coastal waters in the anadromous populations; from 0 to 70 m, with a preference for water of 4 to 16 °C
Sexual maturity: 9 years

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvelinus_alpinus