Arctic char
Salvelinus alpinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) is a bony fish in the family Salmonidae and the subfamily Salmoninae. It belongs to the order Salmoniformes and the class Teleostei, and its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Quick facts about the Arctic char
Other English names for it include Charr, Torgoch, Breeder, Lake char and Sea trout. The IUCN Red List classes the Arctic char as Least Concern in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastal, freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the Arctic char
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the Arctic char live?
Not recorded
What is the Arctic char?
The Arctic char or Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes, as well as Arctic and subarctic coastal waters in the Holarctic. It is the world's most northerly freshwater fish. Some populations are anadromous.
From the Wikipedia article “Arctic char” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arctic_char&oldid=1384595239), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Arctic char endangered?
The Arctic char is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the Arctic char classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderSalmoniformes
- familySalmonidae
- genusSalvelinus
- SpeciesSalvelinus alpinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Salmo alipes, Salmo alpinostagnalis, Salmo alpinus, Salmo alpinus var. nivalis, Salmo arcturus, Salmo ascanii, Salmo carbonarius, Salmo erythrinus, Salmo hearnii, Salmo hoodii, Salmo hybridus, Salmo kundscha, Salmo kundsha, Salmo laevis, Salmo levis, Salmo marstoni, Salmo naresii, Salmo nitidus, Salmo nivalis, Salmo oquassa, Salmo palja, Salmo punctatus, Salmo rivalis, Salmo rossii, Salmo rutilus, Salmo salvelinostagnalis, Salmo stagnalis, Salmo trutta laevis, Salmo trutta trutta, Salmo trutta var. laevis, Salmo ventricosus, Salvelinus alpinostagnalis, Salvelinus alpinus alpinus, Salvelinus alpinus erythrinus, Salvelinus alpinus orientalis, Salvelinus alpinus stagnalis, Salvelinus aureolus, Salvelinus lepechini melanostomus, Salvelinus lepechini profundicola, Salvelinus marstoni, Salvelinus stagnalis, Salvelinus sunapee
Other names and names in other languages (115)
- Alpine charrEnglish
- Arctic charrEnglish
- Arctic charrEnglish
- Arctic charrEnglish
- Blunt-snouted Irish charEnglish
- BreederEnglish
- Char brookEnglish
- CharrEnglish
- CharrEnglish
- Cole's charEnglish
- Coomasaharn charEnglish
- Gray's charEnglish
- Hudson bay salmonEnglish
- Lake charEnglish
- Scharff's charEnglish
- Scharff's charrEnglish
- Sea troutEnglish
- TorgochEnglish
- Trevelyan's charEnglish
- Trevelyan's charrEnglish
- Truita àrticaCatalan
- 沙尔夫红点鲑Chinese
- 沙爾夫紅點鮭Chinese
- 特里維紅點鮭Chinese
- 特里维红点鲑Chinese
- siven ColůvCzech
- siven arktickýCzech
- siven GrayůvCzech
- siven irskýCzech
- siven severníCzech
- siven třásnitýCzech
- siven umblaCzech
- torgochWelsh
- TorgochiaidWelsh
- RødingDanish
- fjaeldørredDanish
- FjældørredDanish
- fjeldørredDanish
- RøddingDanish
- RotforelleGerman
- AlpensaiblingGerman
- Arktischer SaiblingGerman
- Königssee-SaiblingGerman
- SeesaiblingGerman
- WandersaiblingGerman
- salvelinoSpanish
- Trucha alpinaSpanish
- Arktika paaliaEstonian
- rautuFinnish
- nieriäFinnish
- bleikjaFaroese
- omble chevalierFrench
- omble-chevalierFrench
- RuabhreacIrish
- ᐃᖃᓗᑉᐱᒃInuktitut
- IqalukpikInupiaq
- SalmerinoItalian
- Salmerino alpinoItalian
- Salmerino articoItalian
- salmo alpinoItalian
- IwanaJapanese
- ホッキョクイワナJapanese
- eqalucKalaallisut
- EqalukKalaallisut
- arktinė palijaLithuanian
- Arktikas palijaLatvian
- røyeNorwegian Bokmål
- blekeNorwegian Bokmål
- kolmuleNorwegian Bokmål
- kolmunnNorwegian Bokmål
- røeNorwegian Bokmål
- rørNorwegian Bokmål
- RoyrNorwegian Bokmål
- storrøyeNorwegian Bokmål
- vassrørNorwegian Bokmål
- TrekzalmDutch
- beekridderDutch
- riddervisDutch
- røyeNorwegian Nynorsk
- bleikeNorwegian Nynorsk
- gautefiskNorwegian Nynorsk
- gibNorwegian Nynorsk
- røyrNorwegian Nynorsk
- sjørøyeNorwegian Nynorsk
- stilkNorwegian Nynorsk
- vassrøyrNorwegian Nynorsk
- røyeNorwegian
- golecPolish
- golec zwyczajnyPolish
- Salvelino-árcticoPortuguese
- Pastrav alpinRomanian
- golecRussian
- Арктический голецRussian
- Голец арктическийRussian
- СыбааккаYakut
- RávduNorthern Sami
- valasNorthern Sami
- jezerska zlatovčicaSlovenian
- Језерска златовчицаSerbian
- rödingSwedish
- fjällrödingSwedish
- SommenrödingSwedish
- alp alasıTurkish
- alp alabalığıTurkish
- avrupa dağ alabalığıTurkish
- Палія арктичнаUkrainian
- Голець арктичнийUkrainian
- Qaluaqpaqroot
- Iqaluakpakroot
- 纓紅點鮭Chinese
- 北極紅點鮭Chinese
- 格雷紅點鮭Chinese
- 瑞士紅點鮭Chinese
- 科氏紅點鮭Chinese
- 鈍頭紅點鮭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Arctic char
Other species in the same genus Salvelinus.
Brook trout
Salvelinus fontinalis
Laker
Salvelinus namaycush
Dolly varden
Salvelinus malma
Whitespotted char
Salvelinus leucomaenis
Charr
Salvelinus umbla
Silver trout
Salvelinus agassizii
CompareArctic char vs Brook troutArctic char vs LakerArctic char vs Dolly vardenArctic char vs Whitespotted char
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Arctic char?
The Arctic char is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Salmonidae in the order Salmoniformes.
What is the scientific name of the Arctic char?
The scientific name of the Arctic char is Salvelinus alpinus, in the genus Salvelinus.
Is the Arctic char endangered?
No. The Arctic char is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
What are other names for the Arctic char?
Other English names for the Arctic char are Charr, Torgoch, Breeder, Lake char and Sea trout.
What family does the Arctic char belong to?
The Arctic char belongs to the family Salmonidae, subfamily Salmoninae.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/arctic-char
“Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/arctic-char.
@misc{arctic_char_2026,
title = {Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/arctic-char},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}