Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill 1815)

Other Names: Brook Char, Brookie, Char

A male Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, showing breeding colours. Source: David Paul / Museum Victoria. License: CC BY Attribution

Summary:

Although somewhat similar to other trout species, the Brook Trout is dark olive-green above, with irregular mottling and paler markings, and red spots with bluish halos on the sides, and has a very large mouth extending beyond the eye.
This native to the east coast of North America was introduced to Australia in the 1870s. Although Brook Trout have been stocked in various lakes and streams in the Murray-Darling Basin, most populations have fortunately failed to establish.

Cite this page as:

Martin F. Gomon & Dianne J. Bray, Salvelinus fontinalis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 10 Sep 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2084

Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill 1815)

More Info

Distribution	Released in the highland freshwaters of New South Wales with a reproducing population in Clarence Lagoon, Tasmania. The species is native to Atlantic coast and freshwater of Canada and the U.S.
Features	Dorsal fin 10-14; Anal fin 9-12; Pectoral fin 11-14; Gill rakers 14-22; Vertebrae 58-62; Lateral line scales 110-132. Body, slender, elongate; moderately laterally compressed; head relatively large, 22-27% of total length; snout somewhat rounded; mouth terminal, very large, reaching back beyond eyes; teeth present on head of vomer but not on shaft; eye moderate, diameter 15-22% HL; breeding males may develop a hook (or kype) at the front of the lower jaw; well-developed teeth on upper and lower jaws (premaxillary, maxillary, and dentary), on the head of the vomer (not on shaft), on palatines, on tongue (in 2 rows). Scales small, cycloid. Dorsal fin high on back originating in front of ventral fins; fleshy adipose fin behind dorsal; anal fin short-based, below adipose fin; caudal fin shallowly forked; pelvic fins abdominal, relatively small, square to rounded with an axillary process at base.
Size	To 85 cm TL.
Colour	Coloration is bright in large adults; back dark olive-green with irregular wavy and dense paler markings, sides somewhat paler with red spots surrounded by blue halos; belly silvery-white; dorsal fin and tail olive-green with irregular markings, pectoral, pelvic and anal fins dusky-grey with a bold white stripe along leading edge followed by a contrasting black stripe. Breeding adults with a flush of bright orange-red along sides and belly, and the lower fins become reddish.
Feeding	Carnivorous feeding on a range of aquatic insects, crustaceans, molluscs and terrestrial insects as well as small fish.
Biology	Eggs are deposited in a nest constructed in the gravel by the female. Eggs large 3.5-5.0 mm diameter
Species Citation	*Salmo fontinalis* Mitchill, S.L. (1815). The fishes of New York, described and arranged. Trans. Lit. Philos. Soc. N.Y. 1(5): 355–492 6 pls [435]. New York, USA.
Author	Martin F. Gomon & Dianne J. Bray