Cherry salmon

Oncorhynchus masou

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0 m
Water temperature4–29 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Casey H. Richart, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The masu salmon, also known as masu or cherry trout in Japan, is a species of salmonid belonging to the genus Oncorhynchus, found in the North Pacific along Northeast/East Asian coasts from the Russian Far East to south through Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Although generally accepted as a salmon in the West, the fish is actually regarded as a trout in Japan as it is the most commonly seen freshwater salmonid in the Japanese archipelago.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Oncorhynchus masou”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 11 records
February: 18 records
March: 18 records
April: 35 records
May: 47 records
June: 45 records
July: 94 records
August: 116 records
September: 71 records
October: 49 records
November: 24 records
December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 32 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 4–29 °C

4–6 °C: 5 records
6–8 °C: 10 records
8–10 °C: 0 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 2 records
14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 5 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 2 records

Photos

(c) Igor' R., some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Mickey Wu, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Mickey Wu, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jacy Chen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Cherry salmon, Japanese Salmon, masu, masu salmon, Satsukimasu Salmon

Names in 5 more languages

German: Masu-Lachs
Spanish: Salmón japonés, Salmon sakura
French: saumon du Japon, Saumon masou
Japanese: サクラマス, サクラマス／ヤマメ, サツキマス／アマゴ, ヤマメ
Simplified Chinese: 櫻花鉤吻鮭, 櫻鮭, 櫻鱒, 馬蘇麻哈魚

Other scientific names: Oncorhynchus ishikawae, Oncorhynchus ishikawai, Oncorhynchus macrostomus, Oncorhynchus masu, Oncorhynchus rhodorus, Salmo macrostoma, Salmo masou

Similar species

Chum salmon
Oncorhynchus keta
Rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Kokanee
Oncorhynchus nerka
Chinook salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
601 open-data records from 1952 to 2024.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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