Rainbow trout

Oncorhynchus mykiss

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–287 m
Water temperature7–12 °C
Best monthsMay and June
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Bruce Deagle, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Bruce Deagle · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The rainbow trout is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout (O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to freshwater to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 820 records
February: 951 records
March: 1,479 records
April: 3,745 records
May: 9,003 records
June: 9,373 records
July: 5,092 records
August: 3,888 records
September: 2,666 records
October: 2,032 records
November: 1,048 records
December: 921 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–287 m · Deepest record: 907 m

0–10 m: 31 records
10–20 m: 5 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 5 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: 11 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 7–12 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 193 records
10–12 °C: 129 records

Photos

(c) Mike Heine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Skyler K, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) zebedeugalinha, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Garth Harwood, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Juan Carlos Caicedo Hernández, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Rainbow trout, Steelhead, Steelhead trout, Syeelhead trout, Baiser, Banana Trout, Coast angel trout, Golden Rainbow Trout, Hatchery Rainbow, Kamchatka steelhead, Kamchatka trout, Kamloops trout, Lightning trout, Pacific Trout, Palomino trout, rainbow trout, Rainbow Trout, redband trout, steelhead trout, Summer salmon, syeelhead trout

Names in 5 more languages

German: Forelle, Lachsforelle, Regenbogenforelle, Stahlkopfforelle
Spanish: Cabeza de acero, Salmones del Pacífico, Trucha, trucha arcoiris, Trucha Arco Iris
Filipino: Trutsang bahaghari
French: truite, truite arc-en-ciel, Truite arc en ciel, Truite arc-en-ciel, truite arc-en-ciel anadrome, truite saumonée
Japanese: Niji-masu, Nijimasu, ニジマス

Other scientific names: Fario gairdneri, Onchorhynchus mykiss, Onchorrhychus mykiss, Onchorynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus gairdnerii, Oncorhynchus kamloops, Oncorhynchus myskis, Parasalmo mykiss, Parasalmo penshinensis, Salmo gairdneri, Salmo gairdnerii, Salmo gilberti, Salmo iridea, Salmo irideus, Salmo irideux, Salmo kamloops, Salmo masoni, Salmo mykiss, Salmo nelsoni, Salmo penshinensis, Salmo purpuratus, Salmo rivularis, Salmo truncatus, Salmono gairdneri, Trutta iridea

Similar species

Chum salmon
Oncorhynchus keta
Kokanee
Oncorhynchus nerka
Chinook salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Cherry salmon
Oncorhynchus masou

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).
225,243 open-data records from 1892 to 2024.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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