Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of fish. It is farmed in some places. Like species of trout, the rainbow trout is related to salmon. The rainbow trout is one of many different kinds of trout. It is called a rainbow trout because its scales are colorful and shiny.

A rainbow trout

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Geographical group	Common name	Scientific name	Range	Image
Type subspecies	Kamchatkan rainbow trout	O. m. mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)	Western Pacific: the Kamchatka Peninsula, and has been recorded from the Commander Islands east of Kamchatka, and sporadically in the Sea of Okhotsk, as far south as the mouth of the Amur River
Coastal forms	Coastal rainbow trout	O. m. irideus (Gibbons, 1855)	Pacific Ocean tributaries from Aleutian Islands in Alaska south to Southern California. Anadromous forms are known as steelhead, freshwater forms as rainbow trout.	Ocean (a.k.a. "steelhead") and fresh water forms of coastal rainbow trout O. m. irideus
	Beardslee trout	O. m. irideus var. beardsleei (not a true subspecies, but a genetically unique lake-dwelling variety of the coastal rainbow trout) (Jordan, 1896)	Isolated in Lake Crescent, Washington
Redband forms	Columbia River redband trout	O. m. gairdneri (Richardson, 1836)	Found in the Columbia River and its tributaries in Montana, Washington and Idaho. Anadromous forms are known as redband steelhead.	Columbia River redband trout O. m. gairdneri
	Athabasca rainbow trout	O. m. spp., considered by Behnke as a form of O. m. gairdneri, but considered a separate subspecies by biologist L. M. Carl of the Ontario Ministry of Resources, Aquatic Ecosystems Research Section and associates from work published in 1994.	Distributed throughout the headwaters of the Athabasca River system in Alberta
	McCloud River redband trout	O. m. stonei (Jordan, 1894)	Native to the McCloud River, upstream of Middle Falls, and its tributaries in Northern California, south of Mount Shasta.
	Sheepheaven Creek redband trout	O. m. spp.	Native to Sheepheaven Creek, Siskiyou County, California. Sheepheaven Creek redband were transplanted into Swamp Creek in 1972 and 1974 and into Trout Creek in 1977.
	Great Basin redband trout	O. m. newberrii (Girard, 1859)	Native in southeastern Oregon and parts of California and Nevada on the periphery of the Great Basin.
	Eagle Lake trout	O. m. aquilarum (Snyder, 1917)	Endemic to Eagle Lake in Lassen County, California.
	Kamloops rainbow trout	O. m. kamloops strain (Jordan, 1892)	Native to several large British Columbia lakes, particularly Kamloops Lake and Kootenay Lake. Known for its very large size.
Kern River golden trout	Golden trout	O. m. aguabonita (Jordan, 1892)	Native to Golden Trout Creek (tributary to the Kern River), Volcano Creek (tributary to Golden Trout Creek), and the South Fork Kern River.	Kern River golden trout O. m. aguabonita
	Kern River rainbow trout	O. m. gilberti (Jordan, 1894)	Endemic to the Kern River and tributaries in Tulare County, California. Its current range is drastically reduced from its historic range. Remnant populations live in the Kern River above Durrwood Creek, in upper Ninemile, Rattlesnake, and Osa creeks, and possibly in upper Peppermint Creek.
	Little Kern golden trout	O. m. whitei (Evermann, 1906)	Endemic to about 160 kilometres (100 mi) of the Little Kern River and tributaries of Tulare County, California. Their current range is restricted to five headwater streams in the Kern River basin (Wet Meadows, Deadman, Soda Spring, Willow, Sheep, and Fish creeks) plus an introduced population in Coyote Creek, a tributary of the Kern River.
Mexican forms	Mexican rainbow trout *Rio Yaqui, Rio Mayo and Guzman trout *Rio San Lorenzo and Arroyo la Sidra trout *Rio del Presidio trout	O. m. nelsoni (Evermann, 1908)	Sometimes referred to as Nelson's trout, occurs in three distinct geographic groups. The taxonomy of these trout is subject to ongoing research, and there may be significant diversity of forms in this group.
Mutated forms	Golden rainbow trout or Palomino trout	So-called golden rainbow trout or palomino trout are bred from a single mutated color variant of O. mykiss that originated in a West Virginia fish hatchery in 1955. They are also known as banana trout. It is stocked outside of West Virginia but West Virginia still stocks 50,000 palominos a year. The golden rainbow trout is predominantly yellowish, lacking the typical green field and black spots, but retaining the diffuse red stripe. The palomino trout is a mixture of golden and common rainbow trout, resulting in an intermediate color. The golden rainbow trout is not the same subspecies as the naturally occurring O. m. aguabonita, the Kern River golden trout of California.		Golden rainbow

Conservation

Populations of many rainbow trout subspecies have declined in their native ranges due to over-harvest, habitat loss and disease.

Whirling disease

Myxobolus cerebralis is a myxosporean parasite of salmonids that causes whirling disease.

In a human context

Fishing

Rainbow trout and steelhead are thought to be game fish among anglers. They're a very popular target for fly fishers.

Rainbow trout and potatoes

As food

In Western cuisine, rainbow trout is very popular. It has tender flesh and a mild, somewhat nutty flavor. Wild fish has a stronger, gamier taste than farmed fish. Farmed rainbow trout are considered one of the safest fish to eat and have a number vitamin B. They are also noted for being tasty.

Related pages

• List of fish of Montana
• Corydoras

References

1. "Rainbow Trout". Natureserve.org. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2021. "data"
2. "Synonyms of Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)". Fishbase. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
3. "Symbols of Washington State". Washington State Legislature. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
4. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Rainbow and Redband Trout". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
5. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Genus Oncorhynchus". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. pp. 10–21. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
6. Richardson, John; Swainson, William; Kirby, William (1836). "Fauna Boreali-Americana, or, The Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America: Containing Descriptions of the Objects of Natural History Collected on the Late Northern Land Expeditions, Under Command of Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N. (1829) Part Third: The Fish". London: Richard Bentley. p. 221. OCLC 257860151.
7. "Invertebrate Zoology and Geology". California Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
8. Behnke, Robert J. (1966). "Relationships of the Far Eastern Trout, Salmo mykiss Walbaum". Copeia. 1966 (2): 346–348. doi:10.2307/1441145. JSTOR 1441145.
9. Smith, Gerald R.; Stearley, Ralph F. (1989). "The Classification and Scientific Names of Rainbow and Cutthroat Trouts" (PDF). Fisheries. 14 (1): 4–10. doi:10.1577/1548-8446(1989)014<0004:TCASNO>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2027.42/140998.
10. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Rainbow and Redband Trout". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. pp. 65–122. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
11. Meyer, J.; Fradkin, S. (2002). "Summary of Fisheries and Limnological Data for Lake Crescent, Washington". Olympic National Park Report. Port Angeles, Washington.
12. Rasmussen, Joseph B.; Taylor, Eric B. (2009). "Status of the Athabasca Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in Alberta" (PDF). Government of Alberta-Fish and Wildlife Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
13. "Little Kern Golden Trout" (PDF). SOS: California's Native Fish Crisis. California Trout. p. 74. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
14. Hendrickson, Dean A.; Perez, Hector Espinosa; Findley, Lloyd T.; Forbes, William; Tomelleri, Joseph R.; Mayden, Richard L.; Nielsen, Jennifer L.; Jensen, Buddy; Campos, Gorgonio Ruiz; Romero, Alejandro Varela; van der Heiden, Albert; Camarena, Faustino; Gracia de Leon, Francisco J. (2002). "Mexican native trouts: A Review of Their History and Current Systematic and Conservation Status" (PDF). Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 12 (2/3): 273–316. doi:10.1023/A:1025062415188. S2CID 20102698. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-03.
15. McCoy, John (2013-05-11). "50 Years Later, Golden Rainbows Still 'a Treat' for Mountain State Fishermen". Saturday Gazette-Mail. Charleston, West Virginia. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
16. "Golden Rainbow Trout". Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission FAQ. Archived from the original on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
17. CERMELE, JOE (17 April 2023). "Palomino Trout: The Lure of the Golden Mutants". outdoorlife.com. Outdoor Life. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
18. "Golden Rainbow Trout". Retrieved 2013-11-28.
19. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Rainbow and Redband Trout". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. pp. 88, 106. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
20. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). The Free Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
21. "Rainbow Trout Fin Clips" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
22. "Questions and Answers about the Fin Clip Fishery in Hills Creek Reservoir" (PDF). Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
23. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Rainbow and Redband Trout". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. pp. 68–72. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
24. "List of Population Characteristics records for Oncorhynchus mykiss". Fishbase. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
25. "Steelhead Fishing in Lake Erie Tributaries". New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
26. Tyler, C.R; Pottinger, T.G.; Santos, E.; Sumpter, J.P.; Price, S-A; Brooks, S.; Nagler, J.J. (1996). "Mechanisms Controlling Egg Size and Number in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss". Biology of Reproduction. 54 (1): 8–15. doi:10.1095/biolreprod54.1.8. PMID 8837994.
27. Staley, Kathryn; Mueller, John (May 2000). "Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)" (PDF). U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
28. "Wisconsin Trout Fishing: Trout Stream Classifications". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 2014-01-27. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
29. "Steelhead/Rainbow Trout Species Profile". Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
30. "Mariculture in Tasmania Ocean Trout". Marine Education Association of Australasia. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
31. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Rainbow and Redband Trout". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
32. Nichols, Krista M.; Edo, Alicia Felip; Wheeler, Paul A.; Thorgaard, Gary H. (July 2008). "The Genetic Basis of Smoltification-Related Traits in Oncorhynchus mykiss". Genetics. 179 (3): 1559–1575. doi:10.1534/genetics.107.084251. PMC 2475755. PMID 18562654.
33. Hale, MC; Thrower, FP; Berntson, EA; Miller, MR; Nichols, KM (August 2013). "Evaluating Adaptive Divergence Between Migratory and Nonmigratory Ecotypes of a Salmonid Fish, Oncorhynchus mykiss". G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 3 (8): 1273–1285. doi:10.1534/g3.113.006817. PMC 3737167. PMID 23797103.
34. "Recreational Salmon Fishing Salmon/Steelhead Species Information Steelhead (Rainbow Trout) Oncorhynchus mykiss". Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Archived from the original on 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
35. Rollo, C.D. (2002). "Growth negatively impacts the life span of mammals". Evolution and Development. 4 (1): 55–61. doi:10.1046/j.1525-142x.2002.01053.x. PMID 11868658. S2CID 42123902.
36. Alonso-Alvarez, C. (2007). "Increased susceptibility to oxidative damage as a cost of accelerated somatic growth in zebrafinches". Functional Ecology. 21 (5): 873–879. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01300.x.
37. Almroth, B.C. (2010). "Early-age changes in oxidative stress in brown trout, Salmo trutta". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B. 155 (4): 442–448. doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2010.01.012. PMID 20117229.
38. Almaida-Pagàn, P. (2012). "Age-related changes in mitochondrial membrane composition of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) heart and brain". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B. 163 (1): 129–137. doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2012.05.013. hdl:1893/8959. PMID 22634369.
39. Ridolfi, Katherine. "Oncorhynchus mykiss (Coast rainbow trout)". Animal Diversity Web.
40. Thomas, Oliver; Allain, Steven J. R; Owen, Harry (2021). "Predation and ingestion of a barred grass snake Natrix helvetica by a rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in Lot, France" (PDF). Herpetological Bulletin. 156 (156, Summer 2021): 40–41. doi:10.33256/hb156.4041.
41. "BC Fish Facts-Steelhead" (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Fisheries. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
42. "Tryptophan supports intestinal tracts of stressed trouts". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
43. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Rainbow and Redband Trout". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
44. Behnke, Robert J. (2002). "Rainbow and Redband Trout". Trout and Salmon of North America. Tomelleri, Joseph R. (illustrator). New York: The Free Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-7432-2220-4.
45. Fuller, Pam L.; Nico, Leo G.; Williams, James D. (1999). "Case Study: Rainbow Trout". Nonindigenous Fishes Introduced into Inland Waters of the United States. Bethesda, Maryland: American Fisheries Society. pp. 250–251. ISBN 978-1-888569-14-8. OCLC 41262458.
46. Schley, Ben (2009-05-21). "A Century of Fish Conservation (1871–1971)". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
47. Behnke, Robert J.; Williams, Ted (2007). About Trout: The Best of Robert J. Behnke from Trout Magazine. Globe Pequot. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1-59921-203-6.[permanent dead link]
48. "Fish and Aquatic Conservation". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
49. "Conservation-Salmon Hatcheries Overview". Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
50. Frye, Jason (2013-09-17). "The Cherokee Tribal Fish Hatchery". Our State magazine. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
51. Burden, Dan (March 2012). "Trout Profile". Agricultural Resource Marketing Center. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
52. "Native Trout Are Returning to America's Rivers". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
53. "Steelhead Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)". NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources. Retrieved 2013-11-28.

Rainbow trout are a popular game fish for fly fishers.

Other websites

• Map showing endangered species status of West Coast steelhead Archived 2010-02-15 at the Wayback Machine