salmon, in zoology

salmon sămˈən [key], member of the Salmonidae, a family of marine fish that spawn in freshwater, including the salmons, the trouts, and the chars (subfamily Salmoninae), the whitefish and the ciscoes (subfamily Coregoninae), and the grayling (subfamily Thymallinae). The Salmonidae are characterized by soft, rayless adipose fins, and are denizens of cold, oxygen-rich waters. In general they are silvery in the sea and more brightly hued in brooks and lakes.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Classification
• Conservation and Aquaculture
• Life Cycle
• Salmons, Trouts, and Chars
• Bibliography

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