Atlantic salmon
Scientific name: Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758
Overview
The Atlantic salmon 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Atlantic salmon”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Near threatened on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
Common names
Also known in English as black salmon, common Atlantic salmon, grilse, kelt, N. Atlantic salmon, parr, salmon, sea salmon, silver salmon.
Names in other languages (11)
- Arabic
- سلمون أطلسي
- Bengali
- আটলান্টিক স্যালমন
- Chinese
- 大西洋鮭
- French
- saumon, saumon Atlantique, saumon d'Atlantique, saumon de l'Atlantique, tacon Atlantique
- German
- Atlantischer Lachs, Atlantischer Salmón, echter Lachs, Lachs, Las, Salm
- Japanese
- アトランティックサーモン, タイセイヨウサケ
- Persian
- آزادماهی اطلس
- Portuguese
- salmão, salmão atlântico
- Russian
- losos, losos', sëmga, сёмга
- Spanish
- salmón, salmón común, salmón del Atlántico
- Turkish
- alabalik atlantik, Atlantik alabalığı, Atlantik sombalığı
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q188879, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Atlantic salmon”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Hartley, William W., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — User:Der.Angelfischer User:Moyogo User:Balerchik96, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026