''Salmo balcanicus'' is a type of

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

, a fish in the family

Salmonidae Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Lake Ohrid Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of E ...

and its outlet in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. ''Salmo balcanicus'' is one of four different forms of the

Ohrid trout Ohrid trout or the Lake Ohrid brown trout
Balkan trout restoration group. Downloaded on 20 May 2010. (''Sal ...

complex which is endemic to the single lake, along with ''

Salmo letnica Ohrid trout or the Lake Ohrid brown trout
Balkan trout restoration group. Downloaded on 20 May 2010. (''Sal ...

'', ''

Salmo aphelios ''Salmo aphelios'' is a species of trout, a salmonid fish endemic to Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia and Albania in the Balkans. ''Salmo aphelios'' is one of four different forms of the Ohrid trout complex within the single lake, along with '' S. ...

'' and ''

Salmo lumi ''Salmo lumi'' is a type of trout, a fish in the family Salmonidae. It is endemic to Lake Ohrid and its tributaries in Albania and North Macedonia. ''Salmo lumi'' is one of four different forms of the Ohrid trout complex within Lake Ohrid, alon ...

''. The various forms, suggested to be different species, are distinguished by their breeding time and habitat, by which they in practice are reproductively isolated from each other. There is no support for their distinct species status from molecular data however.Lake Ohrid trouts
Balkan trout restoration group. Downloaded on 19 May 2010. ''Salmo balcanicus'' specifically spawns from October to January at the outlet of the lake,

Black Drin The Black Drin, or Black Drim ( sq, Drini i Zi, mk, , translit=Crn Drim) is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of Lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . After abo ...

, in the northwestern end of the lake near the Macedonian-Albanian border area. As the river has been dammed, it is suspected that the population may have gone extinct. The flesh of ''Salmo balcanicus'' is typically of pale pink colour. Overall the Ohrid trouts are silvery in colour, with black dots. Red dots occur along the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

. ''Salmo balcanicus'' can grow to 40 cm length.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q310784 balcanicus Freshwater fish of Europe Fish described in 1927 Taxa named by Stanko Karaman Taxonomy articles created by Polbot