Fish of the Salvelinus (char) genus of the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family of the Salmoniformes order of the Protacanthopterygii superorder.
(Arctic char. Photo by © LfL, IFI. destepti.ro)
Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus alpinus) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778). The species has both anadromous and nonmigratory forms, constantly inhabiting lakes and rivers. It inhabits the depths of up to 70 meters. Usually, it swims near the bottom. The recorded maximum length is 107 cm. Specimens up to 40 cm long are more common. The maximum weight is 15 kilograms. It feeds on planktonic crustaceans, amphipods, mollusks, insects and fishes.
(Arctic char. Photo by © Lauri Urho. luontoportti.com)
It’s the inhabitant of lakes and, more rarely, rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Lake Great Pliva, etc.), Italy (water bodies of the province of Trento, Lombardy region, Lake Lago Maggiore, etc.), Slovenia (Lake Bohinj, etc.), Montenegro (Biogradsko Lake, Black Lake, etc.), Croatia (Plitvice Lakes, etc.). It’s an invasive species.
Names of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus alpinus) in other languages are as follows:
Tavi szaibling (Hungarian), Trekzalm (Dutch), Trucha alpina (Spanish), Salmerino alpino (Italian), Seesaibling, Wandersaibling (German), Golec zwyczajny (Polish), Salvelino árctico (Portuguese), Jezerska zlatovčica (Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian), Omble-chevalier (French).