''Salmo aphelios'' is a species 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

salmonid 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 whitefi ...

fish

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 ...

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 aphelios'' 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 within the single lake, along with '' S. balcanicus'', '' S. letnica'', and '' S. lumi''. The various trout forms, which have been suggested to be different species, are distinguished by their breeding time and habitat, by which they in practice are thought to be reproductively isolated from each other. Genetic data have not supported their distinction, though.Lake Ohrid trouts
Balkan trout restoration group. Downloaded on 20 May 2010.Suśnik S, Snoj A, Wilson I, Mrdak D, Weiss S (2007) Historical demography of brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') in the Adriatic drainage including the putative ''S. letnica'' endemic to Lake Ohrid. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 44(1), 63-76
(abstract)
/ref> ''Salmo aphelios'' specifically spawns from May to July near the underwater springs on the eastern shore of the lake, at the Macedonian-Albanian border area. Its flesh is typically of orange 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 ...

. ''S. aphelios'' can grow to 40 cm long.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q136974 aphelios Fish described in 1997 Fish of Europe Taxonomy articles created by Polbot