kokanee
Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Two pink sockeye salmon swimming in different directions. Males have a hooked nose and a deep red; within a day of fresh water, they start turning red in salt tasting the brackish water of river.
Milton Love, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a Pacific salmon that is primarily red in hue during spawning. They can grow up to 84 cm (2 ft 9 in) in length and weigh 2.3 to 7 kg (5–15 lb). Juveniles remain in freshwater until they are ready to migrate to the ocean, over distances of up to 1,600 km (1,000 mi). Their diet consists primarily of zooplankton. Sockeye salmon are semelparous, dying after they spawn. Some populations, referred to as kokanee, do not migrate to the ocean and live their entire lives in fresh water.
Wikipedia contributors, Sockeye salmon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:28:21.818142+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792)
- Name authority
- (Walbaum, 1792)
- Common name
- kokanee
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Salmoniformes
- Family
- Salmonidae
- Genus
- Oncorhynchus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSalmoniformes
- familySalmonidae Cuvier, 1816
- subfamilySalmoninae Cuvier, 1816
- genusOncorhynchus Suckley, 1861
- speciesOncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Oncorhynchus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Keta salmonOncorhynchus keta (Walbaum, 1792) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coho salmonOncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum, 1792) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cherry salmonOncorhynchus masou (Brevoort, 1856) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| rainbow troutOncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oncorhynchus rhodurus Jordan & McGregor, 1925 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chinook salmonOncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mexican Golden TroutOncorhynchus chrysogaster (Needham & Gard, 1964) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| cutthroat troutOncorhynchus clarkii (Richardson, 1836) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oncorhynchus gilae (Miller, 1950) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oncorhynchus aguabonita (Jordan, 1892) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| humpback salmonOncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum, 1792) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oncorhynchus apache (Miller, 1972) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Salmo nerka Walbaum, 1792 Walbaum, 1792 | synonym |
| Salmo paucidens Richardson, 1836 Richardson, 1836 | synonym |
| Salmo kennerlyi Suckley, 1861 Suckley, 1861 | synonym |
| Oncorhynchus nerka nerka (Walbaum, 1792) (Walbaum, 1792) | synonym |
| Oncorhynchus adonis Jordan & McGregor in Jordan & Hubbs, 1925 Jordan & McGregor in Jordan & Hubbs, 1925 | synonym |
| Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi (Suckley, 1861) (Suckley, 1861) | synonym |
| Hypsifario kennerlyi (Suckley, 1861) (Suckley, 1861) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=254569 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:49JFH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.