Oncorhynchus mykiss X Oncorhynchus clarkii

Oncorhynchus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae, native to coldwater tributaries of the North Pacific basin. The genus contains sixteen extant species, namely six species of Pacific salmon and ten species of Pacific trout, all of which are migratory (either anadromous or potamodromous) mid-level predatory fish that display natal homing and semelparity.

The name of the genus is derived from Ancient Greek ὄγκος (ónkos), meaning "bend", and ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos), meaning "snout", in reference to the hooked secondary sexual characteristic — known as the kype — that the males develop on the lower jaw tip during mating season.

Distribution

Salmon and trout within Oncorhynchus are native to the tributaries of the North Pacific Ocean, with their native ranges extend from the Bering Sea coasts southwards to as far as Taiwan in the west and Mexico in the east, although most of them are distributed in high-latitude cold waters from the Russian Far East to the Pacific Northwest. In North America, some subspecies of cutthroat trout (O. clarkii) have become landlocked populations native to endorheic waters in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin, while others have crossed the Continental Divide to inhabit the Rio Grande and western tributaries of the Mississippi River, both of which drain into the Gulf of Mexico instead of the Pacific Ocean. Several species of Oncorhynchus, such as the rainbow trout (O. mykiss) and Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), have been widely introduced into non-native waters around the globe, establishing self-sustaining wild populations.

The six Pacific salmons of Oncorhynchus are anadromous (migratory) and semelparous (die after spawning). Migration can be affected by parasites. Infected individuals can become weak and probably have shortened lifespans. Infection with parasites creates an effect known as culling whereby fish that are infected are less likely to complete the migration. Anadromous forms of Oncorhynchus mykiss known as steelhead are iteroparous. The coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) is considered semi-anadromous, as it spends some time in the ocean, usually much closer to its native stream than its fully anadromous relatives.