''Oncorhynchus masou formosanus'', the Formosan landlocked salmon or Taiwanese salmon, is a freshwater salmonid 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 ...

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 ...

. The Formosan landlocked salmon is a subspecies of the more widespread West-Pacific

cherry salmon The masu salmon (''Oncorhynchus masou''), also known as masu ( ja, マス, , trout) or in Japan, is a species of salmon belonging to the genus ''Oncorhynchus'', found in the North Pacific along Northeast/East Asian coasts from the Russian Far Eas ...

(or masu salmon). This Taiwanese subspecies is critically endangered, being at high risk for

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

, and is protected in its native habitat. The Formosan land-locked salmon is one of the rarest fish in the world. It was once a diet staple among

Taiwanese aborigine Taiwanese indigenous peoples (formerly Taiwanese aborigines), also known as Formosan people, Austronesian Taiwanese, Yuanzhumin or Gaoshan people, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 5 ...

s like the

Atayal people The Atayal (), also known as the Tayal and the Tayan, are a Taiwanese indigenous people. The Atayal people number around 90,000, approximately 15.9% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the third-largest indigenous group. The pre ...

, who know this fish by several local names: , and . Overfishing has led to its decline.

Conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

are trying to save this subspecies which is threatened nowadays mainly by

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

. By 1992, there were only 200 remaining according to official count. Over the next 20 years, the Taiwanese government, the

Shei-Pa National Park Shei-Pa National Park () is a national park located in the central part of Taiwan around the peaks of Hsuehshan and Dabajian Mountain, with an area of , covering the area of Hsinchu County, Miaoli County and Taichung City. High mountain ecology, ...

Administration, as well as effective conservation efforts in Taiwan, restored the fish population to historical high of 12,587 in 2020. Formosan landlocked salmon are about a foot in length and inhabit cold, slow-flowing streams with gently sloping beds at elevations above , such as the Chichiawan Stream and the Kaoshan Stream (formerly named

Hsuehshan Xueshan, formerly known as and by other names, is a mountain in the Heping District of Taichung, Taiwan. It is the 2nd-highest mountain in Taiwan and in East Asia, at above sea level. It is located in the Shei-Pa National Park and is visi ...

Stream/Wuling Stream) in the upper reaches of the

Tachia River Dajia River () is the fifth-longest river in Taiwan located in the north-central of the island. It flows through Taichung City for 142 km. The sources of the Dajia are: Hsuehshan and Nanhu Mountain in the Central Mountain Range. The Dajia ...

, within the ranges of Shei-Pa National Park. The taxonomic rank of the endemic Taiwanese salmon is in dispute. Some authors consider it not distinct from the nominate cherry salmon (''O. masou masou''), others as a regional subspecies ''O. masou formosanus'', and still others list is as a full species ''O. formosanus''. At this time, these salmon represent the southernmost natural distribution of members of 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 ...

in Asia.

Notes

References

* Oncorhynchus Endemic fauna of Taiwan Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Masamitsu Ōshima Freshwater fish of Taiwan Critically endangered fish Critically endangered fauna of Asia Fish of East Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Subspecies Fish described in 1919 {{Salmoniformes-stub

See also

Notes

References