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Brown Trout
Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758
A Brown Trout at a depth of 2 m, Thredbo River, near Jindabyne, New South Wales, May 2004. View larger image. Photo: Sascha Schulz.
The Brown Trout is a stout bodied fish with a large mouth, a single soft rayed dorsal fin and a dorsal adipose fin. Its colouration is variable with age and habitat. It is usually silvery or olive with dark spots on the sides of the body. The spots are often surrounded by a lighter halo - those on the lower sides may be pale or reddish-orange.
It is a popular angling species, growing to 1.4 m in length (20 kg) although in Australia it only reaches 90 cm (14 kg).
This species eats small fishes, insects, molluscs and crustaceans. It is a predator of small native species such as galaxids.
The Brown Trout is native to coastal North Atlantic from Scandinavia to North Africa and east to the Caspian Sea. It was introduced to Australia from Europe in the 1860s.
It inhabits cool streams, lakes and reservoirs of north-eastern New South Wales south to Tasmania and west to South Australia. It also occurs in south-western Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Brown Trout is also known as the Sea Trout.
Related links
- View the Australian freshwater fish list
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Australia. T.F.H. Publications. Pp. 240.
- Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & M. Allen. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 394.
- Davies, P.E. & R.M. McDowall. in McDowall, R.M. 1996. Freshwater Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Reed Books. Pp. 247.
- Merrick, J.R. & G.E. Schmida. 1984. Australian Freshwater Fishes. Biology and Management. John R. Merrick. Pp. 409.
