8/3/2023 0 Comments Dolly varden troutDolly Varden (which take their name from a brightly clothed character in the Charles Dickens novel “Barnaby Rudge”) tend to have a more rounded body shape, while bull trout have a larger, more flattened head and a more pronounced kype. As you might expect, it is very difficult to distinguish between them. For years people believed that the bull trout was just a localised version of Dolly Varden, but it is now accepted that they are two different species. Along with the Dolly Varden (and of course Arctic char), they are members of the char family. Spawning male Dolly Varden have a much larger kype (hooked lower jaw) than spawning male Arctic char.īull trout (scientific name: Salvelinus confluentus), like their cousins, the lake trout and brook trout, are not considered trout at all. Spawning Dolly Varden, in contrast, are usually red or pink on the lower abdomen with bright red spots. Spawning Arctic char are usually gold, orange, yellow or rose-coloured, and are only infrequently red. Dolly Varden generally have a greener body with many small (smaller than the pupil of the eye) spots. Generally speaking however, Arctic char tend to have a bronzish-yellow body, fewer and larger spots (larger than the pupil of an eye), a more deeply-forked tail, and a narrower caudal peduncle (the area before the tail fin). Dolly Varden, scientific name: Salvelinus malma, have similar coloration and often inhabit the same locations as Arctic char. For a long time, it was believed that these fish were all strains of Arctic char (scientific name: Salvelinus alpinus), but scientists now agree that they are three distinct species, which look almost identical. Arctic char vs bull trout and Dolly Vardenįound in lakes, rivers, streams and sometimes migrating back and forth between fresh and salt water (but not always), Dolly Varden, bull trout and Arctic char have puzzled fisheries biologists and ichthyologists (people who specialize in the study of fish) for decades. Unlike other salmonoid fishes, char lack teeth on the the upper palate of the mouth. They are what is known as amphidromous fishes, which means they may migrate from fresh water to the sea, or vice versa, but not for the purpose of breeding. The migratory pattern of char, on the other hand, is far more irregular, and depends on location, access to the sea, and the distribution and abundance of food. This means they hatch in small freshwater streams, then migrate to the sea to mature before returning to the same streams in order to spawn. Salmon and some species of trout (sea trout) are anadromous fishes. Char also differ from trout and salmon in their migratory habits. Trout and salmon have light-coloured bodies with dark spots, while char have dark-coloured bodies with light spots. Although very similar in body shape, char can be distinguished from trout and salmon by their very fine scales and coloration.
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