Salmo gegarkuni, Kessler, 1877

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 638

Salmo gegarkuni

Common name. Gegarkuni.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Salmo in Caspian basin by: ● flank with very large, densely set, black blotches, larger than 10 mm in diameter in individuals larger than 300 mm SL / ○ flank silvery, without orange spots except in juveniles / ○ parr marks distinct up to about 100 mm SL, absent or indistinct in larger individuals. Size up to 800 mm SL and 16 kg.

Distribution. Armenia: Lake Sevan basin. Locally introduced to lakes and reservoirs in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, as well as to Lake Issykul ( Kyrgyzstan) and from there in 1980th to Charvak reservoir ( Uzbekistan).

Habitat. Lacustrine, spawns in inflowing streams.

Biology. Spawns in autumn–early winter. Feeds mainly on benthic gammarid crustaceans.

Salmo ischchan ; Lake Sevan, Armenia. Modified from Kessler 1877.

Conservation status. VU; might by CR; may be extinct in the wild, surviving only through artificial propagation and stocking.

Further reading. Levin et al. 2022 (Sevan trout).