Salvelinus youngeri Friend, 1956
Golden charr

Family:  Salmonidae (Salmonids), subfamily: Salmoninae
Max. size:  25 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  Europe: Scotland, UK: Loch Eck. Possibly present in Loch Awe (Argyll), Loch Lee (Angus), Loch Earn (Pertshire), and Loch Doon (Ayshire). Loch Doon population has been introduced in Megget and Talla reservoirs.
Diagnosis:  Distinguished from congeners in British Isles by the following characters: body coloration plain purplish-brown (silvery to goldish outside spawning season), belly creamy-pink to light orange in large individuals; eye large, about 3.7-4.0 times in HL; snout blunt; pectoral fin equal to or longer than head, sometimes almost reaching pelvic origin in large males; pectoral, pelvic and anal fins reddish; pelvic and anal fins with white anterior margin, very narrow in pectoral; maxilla reaching posterior margin of eye or beyond (Ref. 59043).
Biology:  Inhabits lakes. Feeds on zooplankton in summer and on benthic invertebrates for the rest of the year. Spawns over gravel and stones in shallow water, along stone shore line (Ref. 59043).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 01 January 2008 (D2) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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