Chordata · chordates

Atlantic salmon

Salmo salar

Salmonidae · salmon & troutIUCN: Near Threatened
Atlantic salmon
Photo: User:Wolfgang Striewski · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

The only salmon native to the Atlantic. Wild US runs survive only in Maine.

Fun factUnlike Pacific salmon, it can survive spawning and return several times.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries, Open-ocean surface waters
Diet
Fish & krill at sea
Size
Up to 1.5 m

Classification

Chordata › Actinopterygii › Salmoniformes › Salmonidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
    • Includes echinoderms and chordates
  4. Phylum Chordata chordates
    • At some stage of life: a stiffening rod along the back (notochord)
    • A hollow nerve cord along the back (dorsal)
    • Slits in the throat (pharyngeal slits) and a tail past the anus
  5. Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
    • A skull (cranium) protecting a brain
    • Backbone or similar support around the nerve cord
    • Includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
  6. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
    • Jawed vertebrates: jaws formed from gill arches
    • Paired fins or limbs
    • Includes all fishes except hagfish and lampreys, plus all tetrapods
  7. Superclass Osteichthyes bony vertebrates
    • Bony vertebrates: skeleton made largely of bone
    • Most have a lung or swim bladder
    • Includes ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes and all tetrapods
  8. Class Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes
    • Ray-finned fishes: fins are webs of skin held up by thin bony rays
    • Usually a gas-filled swim bladder for buoyancy
    • About half of all vertebrate species
  9. Infraclass Teleostei teleost fishes
    • Teleosts: symmetrical tail fin
    • Jaws that can push forward to grab prey (protrusible)
    • About 96% of all living fishes
  10. Cohort Euteleostei salmon, cod, perch & kin
    • A huge group that includes salmon, cod, and all spiny-finned fishes
  11. Order Salmoniformes salmon & trout
    • Salmon and trout: small fleshy fin on the back near the tail (adipose fin)
  12. Family Salmonidae salmon & trout
    • Many hatch in fresh water, grow at sea, and return to spawn (anadromous)
  13. Genus Salmo
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  14. Species Salmo salar Atlantic salmon

Closest relatives in the guide