🐟Brook trout
The brook trout is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus Salvelinus of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout have been recognized by the US Forest Service. One ecological form is long-lived potamodromous populations in Lake Superior known as coaster trout or coasters. The second ecological form is the short-living predaceous anadromous populations which are found in northern lakes and coastal rivers from Long Island to Hudson Bay, which are referred to as salters. In parts of its range, it is also known as the eastern brook trout, speckled trout, brook char, squaretail, brookie, or mud trout, among others. Adult coaster brook trout are capable of reaching sizes over 2 feet in length and weigh up to 6.8 kg (15 lb), whereas adult salters average between 6 and 15 inches in length and weigh between 0.5 and 2.3 kg. The brook trout is characterized by its distinctive olive-green body with yellow and blue-rimmed red spots, white and black edged orange fins, and dorsal vermiculation. The diet of the brook trout is restrictive to the season and location of the fish, but will typically consist of terrestrial and aquatic insects, fry, crustaceans, zooplankton, and worms.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2024.
- Body mass
- 4.4 kg
- Body length
- 0.26 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 24 years
Everything we know about the Brook trout
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass4.4 kgrecord 8 kg · FishBaseAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Body length0.26 mrecord 0.86 m · FishBasetypical adultFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Record: largest individual on record
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Maximum lifespan24 yearsrecord 24 years · FishBaseAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Trophic level3.31FishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0
DietcarnivoreaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
From trophic level 3.31 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.
Danger to humanspotential pestFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Volume l4.4 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Brook trout yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›orderSalmoniformes
- ›familySalmonidae
- ›genusSalvelinus
- ›speciesSalvelinus fontinalis
- superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
- orderSalmoniformes
- familySalmonidae
- subfamilySalmoninae
All 11 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
- classActinopteri
- subclassNeopterygii
- orderSalmoniformes
- familySalmonidae
- subfamilySalmoninae
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