Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. Atlantic salmon are found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into it. Most populations are anadromous, hatching in streams and rivers but moving out to sea as they grow where they mature, after which the adults seasonally move upstream again to spawn. When the mature fish re-enter rivers to spawn, they change in colour and appearance. Some populations of this fish only migrate to large lakes, and are "landlocked", spending their entire lives in freshwater. Such populations are found throughout the range of the species. Unlike Pacific species of salmon, S. salar is iteroparous, which means it can survive spawning and return to sea to repeat the process again in another year with 5–10% returning to the sea to spawn again. Such individuals can grow to extremely large sizes, although they are rare.
Wikipedia contributors, Atlantic salmon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:53:32.873110+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- Atlantic salmon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Salmoniformes
- Family
- Salmonidae
- Genus
- Salmo
- 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
- genusSalmo Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesSalmo salar Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Salmo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Salmo pallaryi Pellegrin, 1924 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo pelagonicus Karaman, 1938 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo ischchan Kessler, 1877 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo rhodanensis Fowler, 1974 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo kottelati Turan, Doğan, Kaya & Kanyılmaz, 2014 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Salmo stomachicus Günther, 1866 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo macedonicus (Karaman, 1924) | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo tigridis Turan, Kottelat & Bektaş, 2011 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo visovacensis Taler, 1950 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo rizeensis Turan, Kottelat & Engin, 2010 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo carpio Linnaeus, 1758 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salmo farioides Karaman, 1938 | SalmonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
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.
- Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.542 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:6XCXT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.