Sakhalinian Char

Diagnosis: Lateral line 109-119 scales; gill rakers 18-22; pyloric caeca 19-24; vertebrae 59-62 (trunk 25-26, caudal 34-37); body deep, maximum depth about 30 (27.8-29.7)% fork length, minimum 8.6-11% FL; caudal peduncle short (15.8-17.9% FL); head deep, 62.5-81.3% of head length (HL), forehead wide, 15.8-17.9% HL; jaws long - upper jaw 51.6-61.1% HL and lower jaw 65.9-67.5% HL (Ref. 56657).

Vertebrae: 59 - 62

This species lives in rivers of Sakhalin from the mouth to the middle reaches. The dominant form is semi-anadromous; lagoon-river form and the riverine form are much rarer. The fish is characterized by its feeding migrations in the middle of summer and autumn; in other seasons, it remains in holes and in the lagoon. Fish ready to spawn migrate to the Amur lagoon to rivers. Some of the fish move to the lagoon from rivers of Sakhalin for feeding. In rivers of NW Sakhalin, fish reach a length of 80 cm and weigh more than 5 kilos. Biological characteristics are rarely studied: the fish mature in the rivers of Pyrki and Tengi at the age of 4+; mature individuals noted in August-October in areas with relatively rapid current and sandy or pebbled bottom in holes (up to 1.5-2 meters0, the chars may even winter here; omnivorous, feeding on fish, aerial and aquatic insects and their larvae, amphipods, insectivorous mammals and mice (Ref. 56657).

This species lives in rivers of Sakhalin from the mouth to the middle reaches. The dominant form is semi-anadromous; lagoon-river form and the riverine form are much rarer. The fish is characterized by its feeding migrations in the middle of summer and autumn; in other seasons, it remains in holes and in the lagoon. Fish ready to spawn migrate to the Amur lagoon to rivers. Some of the fish move to the lagoon from rivers of Sakhalin for feeding. In rivers of NW Sakhalin, fish reach a length of 80 cm and weigh more than 5 kilos. Biological characteristics are rarely studied: the fish mature in the rivers of Pyrki and Tengi at the age of 4+; mature individuals noted in August-October in areas with relatively rapid current and sandy or pebbled bottom in holes (up to 1.5-2 meters0, the chars may even winter here; omnivorous, feeding on fish, aerial and aquatic insects and their larvae, amphipods, on insectivorous mammals and mice (Ref. 56657).