Steelhead 
Steelhead
Steelhead
E. R. Keeley
Scientific Name:
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Other Names and/or Listed subspecies:
Rainbow Trout, Redband Trout, Salmo mykiss, Salmo gairdneri, Parasalmo mykiss
Group:
Fishes
Status/Date Listed as Endangered:
EN-US FWS: June 17, 1998
Area(s) Where Listed As Endangered:
(endangered population southern California Coast), North Pacific Ocean from the Kamchatka Peninsula in Asia to the northern Baja Peninsula
 
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The steelhead is also called the rainbow trout and was once only found in North America and Siberia. They were introduced to other habitats and can now be found worldwide. Adult specimens can reach a total of 14.5 inches in length and can weigh up to 20 lb. The steelhead lives only up to eight years. It is green in color with black spots, and it has white or yellowish underparts. One stripe appears on each of its sides that is pink to red in color.

Steelheads are found in lakes, streams and coasts with water less than 35 feet deep, and they are able to survive in a wide range of temperate conditions. Young steelheads travel to lakes where they wander in the shallow sections searching for plankton, minnows, insects and other aquatic creatures. Spawning takes place in streams (usually in the streams that they themselves were born in) from late October to early May. The eggs hatch after four to seven weeks.

Steelheads found on the southern California coast and in the North Pacific Ocean were listed as endangered due to a decline in numbers, possibly due to poor feeding conditions in the areas, predation by marine mammals, and ocean drift-net fishing.




Wikipedia Article

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Wikipedia Article
Copyright Notice: This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rainbow trout".

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