Masu Salmon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The masu salmon (''Oncorhynchus masou''), also known as masu ( ja, マス, , trout) or in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, is a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
belonging to the
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Oncorhynchus ''Oncorhynchus'' is a genus of fish in the family Salmonidae; it contains the Pacific salmon and Pacific trout. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek ὄγκος (ónkos, “lump, bend”) + ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos, “snout”), in r ...
'', found in the
North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
along
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
/
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
n coasts from the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
( Primorsky,
Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...
,
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
and
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
) to south through
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, Japan and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. A number of
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are known, including the widespread
nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
''yamame'' (''O. m. masou''), the critically endangered Formosan salmon (''O. m. formosanus'') found in certain landlocked freshwater systems of Taiwan, the
Biwa trout The Biwa trout (''Oncorhynchus rhodurus'') is an anadromous salmonid fish of the genus ''Oncorhynchus'', endemic to Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, but also introduced to Lake Ashi and Lake Chūzenji. While called trout, the fish is most ...
(''O. m. rhodurus'') endemic of
Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...
, and the
anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...
or
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
-dwelling '' amago'' (''O. m. macrostomus'') restricted to western Japan. On average, this salmon prefers a
temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
around the
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
of 65-58°N, and in the sea, it prefers a depth of .


Appearance

A masu salmon which has reached sexual maturity has a darkened back, and the stripes on the body sides become bright red with crimson tinge to merge on the abdomen into one common longitudinal band of lighter color. For this reason, it was given the name cherry salmon. As adults, masu salmon tend to weigh and measure roughly in length.Augerot, X., Atlas of Pacific Salmon, University of California Press, 2005. The maximum size that can be attained by this species (which is in the region of
Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...
) is long and in weight.


Life cycle

Like other Pacific salmon, its life cycle is subdivided into marine and freshwater periods; in rivers, this species lives from 1 to 3 years and can form living freshwater forms. The sea lifecycle, depending on the age of the young, continues for 2.0 to 3.5 years. In the sea, the masu salmon feeds intensely on
crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s, less often on young fish. On attaining sexual maturity, in its third to seventh years of life, it enters rivers to spawn. Its spawning run starts earlier than that of other salmon species. After spawning, most passing fish die, and those that remain alive (preferentially dwarf males) participate in spawning the next year, too. Emerging from the nest, the young do not travel to the sea immediately, but remain in spawning areas, in the upper reaches of rivers, and on shallows with weak currents. The young move to pools and rolls of the river core to feed on chironomid, stone fly, and may fly larvae, and on airborne insects. The masu salmon travels to the ocean in its second, or occasionally even third year of life.


Economic importance

This salmon, like most others, is a highly commercial species caught in fisheries, raised for
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...
, and sought after as a game fish. It is marketed fresh and frozen and is often eaten broiled or baked.


Subspecies and morphs

* ''O. m. masou'' — masu salmon, anadromous (sea-run) form ** ''O. m. ishikawae'' (synonym) — also called , a non-anadromous (landlocked), black-spotted formKato, F. (1991
Life histories of masu and amago salmon (''Oncorhynchus masou and Oncorhynchus rhodurus'')
In: Groot, C., Margolis, L.: Pacific Salmon Life Histories, UBC Press. Vancouver. pp. 449–520.
(or a synonym of '' O. m. macrostomus'', red-spotted) ** ''O. m.'' var. ''iwame'' —
Iwame trout The iwame trout or markless trout is a variety of salmonid fish inhabiting some fresh waters of Japan. It is an intra-specific mutant morph of the masu salmon (''Oncorhynchus masou'') that is characterized by a lack of the lateral spot marks typic ...
, recessive spotless form * '' O. m. rhodurus'' —
Biwa trout The Biwa trout (''Oncorhynchus rhodurus'') is an anadromous salmonid fish of the genus ''Oncorhynchus'', endemic to Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, but also introduced to Lake Ashi and Lake Chūzenji. While called trout, the fish is most ...
, in
Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...
of western Japan * '' O. m. macrostomus'' — , red-spotted masu salmon; endemic to western Japan * '' O. m. formosanus'' — Formosan salmon, landlocked form endemic to Taiwan


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1156455 Oncorhynchus Fish of the Pacific Ocean Vertebrates of East Asia Marine fauna of Asia Taxa named by J. Carson Brevoort Fish described in 1856 Salmon