Rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)
Status not recordedbony fish
The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a bony fish in the family Salmonidae, subfamily Salmoninae, within the order Salmoniformes. Its main foods are algae, beetle, caddisfly, fish, formicidae, grasshopper, gryllidae, palinuridae, shrimp, teuthida and tipulidae.
Quick facts about the rainbow trout
It is also called Baiser, Steelhead, Banana trout, Pacific trout and Redband trout, and its scientific name carries the authority (Walbaum, 1792).
- Weight
- 500 g – 2.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- algae, beetle, caddisfly, fish, formicidae, grasshopper and 5 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the rainbow trout
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the rainbow trout live?
Not recorded
What is the rainbow trout?
The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) 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.
Adult freshwater stream rainbow trout average between 0.5 and 2.5 kilograms (1 and 5 lb), while lake-dwelling and anadromous forms may reach 9 kg (20 lb). Coloration varies widely based on subspecies, forms, and habitat. Adult fish are distinguished by a broad reddish stripe along the lateral line, from gills to the tail, which is most vivid in breeding males.
Wild-caught and hatchery-reared forms of the species have been transplanted and introduced for food or sport in at least 45 countries and every continent except Antarctica. Introductions to locations outside their native range in the United States, Southern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South America have damaged native fish species. Introduced populations may affect native species by preying on them, out-competing them, transmitting contagious diseases (such as whirling disease), or hybridizing with closely related species and subspecies. The rainbow trout is included in the list of the top 100 globally invasive species. Other introductions into waters previously devoid of fish or with severely depleted stocks of native fish have created sport fisheries, such as the Great Lakes and Wyoming's Firehole River.
Some local populations of specific subspecies, or in the case of steelhead, distinct population segments, are listed as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The steelhead is the official state fish of Washington.
From the Wikipedia article “Rainbow trout” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rainbow_trout&oldid=1382397319), 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 rainbow trout endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the rainbow trout classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderSalmoniformes
- familySalmonidae
- genusOncorhynchus
- SpeciesOncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)
Synonyms Fario gairdneri, Onchorhynchus mykiss, Onchorrhychus mykiss, Onchorynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus gairdnerii, Oncorhynchus kamloops, Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdnerii, Oncorhynchus mykiss gibbsi, Oncorhynchus mykiss gilberti, Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus, Oncorhynchus mykiss nelsoni, Oncorhynchus myskis, Oncorhynchus penshinensis, Parasalmo gairdneri, Parasalmo mykiss, Parasalmo penshinensis, Salmo gairdneri, Salmo gairdneri beardsleei, Salmo gairdneri gairdneri, Salmo gairdneri irideus, Salmo gairdneri kamloops, Salmo gairdneri shasta, Salmo gairdneri var. gilberti, Salmo gairdneri var. shasta, Salmo gairdnerii, Salmo gairdnerii gairdnerii, Salmo gairdnerii irideus, Salmo gibbsii, Salmo gilberti, Salmo iridea, Salmo irideus, Salmo irideus argentatus, Salmo irideus morph argentatus, Salmo irideux, Salmo kamloops, Salmo kamloops whitehousei, Salmo masoni, Salmo muikisi, Salmo mykiss, Salmo nelsoni, Salmo newberrii, Salmo penshinensis, Salmo purpuratus, Salmo regalis, Salmo rivularis, Salmo rivularis kamloops, Salmo smaragdus, Salmo truncatus, Salmono gairdneri, Trutta iridea
Other names and names in other languages (142)
- BaiserEnglish
- Banana troutEnglish
- Coast angel troutEnglish
- Golden rainbow troutEnglish
- Hatchery rainbowEnglish
- Lightning troutEnglish
- Pacific troutEnglish
- Palomino troutEnglish
- Redband troutEnglish
- SteelheadEnglish
- Steelhead troutEnglish
- Syeelhead troutEnglish
- ReënboogforelAfrikaans
- تروات قوس قزحArabic
- تروات فولاذي الرأسArabic
- ثروات أحمر الشريطArabic
- سلمون قوس قزحArabic
- Al-əlvan qızılxallıAzerbaijani
- Стронга радужнаяBelarusian
- Дъгова пъстърваBulgarian
- রেইনবো ট্রাউটBangla
- Dluzh kanevedennBreton
- Kalifornijska pastrmkaBosnian
- Truita irisadaCatalan
- Truita arc de Sant MartíCatalan
- Truita arc irisCatalan
- ᏧᏂᎶᎸᏗCherokee
- 鱒魚Chinese
- 戡察加鱒Chinese
- 戡察加鳟Chinese
- 硬头鳟Chinese
- 硬頭鱒Chinese
- 虹硬头鳟Chinese
- 虹硬頭鱒Chinese
- 鳟鱼Chinese
- pstruh duhovýCzech
- brithyll seithliwWelsh
- Brithyll seiethliwWelsh
- Brithyllod SeithliwWelsh
- regnbueørredDanish
- StålhovedørredDanish
- ForelleGerman
- LachsforelleGerman
- RegenbogenforelleGerman
- Αμερικάνικη πέστροφαGreek
- Mayu'artaqems
- Ĉielarka trutoEsperanto
- Cabeza de aceroSpanish
- trucha arcoirisSpanish
- talariiqCentral Yupik
- VikerforellEstonian
- Ortzadar-amuarrainBasque
- Qezel AlaPersian
- Ghezelalla-e-Rangin KamanPersian
- Mahi Qezel AlaPersian
- Qezel Ala RanginkamanPersian
- kirjolohiFinnish
- ÆlabogasílFaroese
- truiteFrench
- Truite arc en cielFrench
- truite arc-en-cielFrench
- truite arc-en-ciel anadromeFrench
- truite saumonéeFrench
- Troita arco da vellaGalician
- T'ak'alHaida
- TaayingaaHaida
- TaayngaHaida
- TaiyungHaida
- Kalifornijska pastrva / Калифорнијска пастрмкаSerbian (Latin)
- טרוטת עין-הקשתHebrew
- Kalifornijska pastrvaCroatian
- Szivárványos pisztrángHungarian
- Ծիածանափայլ իշխանArmenian
- UrriöiIcelandic
- RegnbogasilungurIcelandic
- Trota irideaItalian
- trotta irideaItalian
- ニジマスJapanese
- Niji-masuJapanese
- NijimasuJapanese
- ცისარტყელა კალმახიGeorgian
- Құбылмалы бахтахKazakh
- ರೇನ್ಬೋ ಟ್ರೌಟ್Kannada
- 무지개송어Korean
- Кубулжума жилингирKyrgyz
- ReeboufrelLuxembourgish
- Vaivorykštinis upėtakisLithuanian
- varaviksnes foreleLatvian
- Varavīksnes foreleLatvian
- Калифорниска пастрмкаMacedonian
- റെയിൻബോ ട്രൗട്ട്Malayalam
- AureNorwegian Bokmål
- ØrretNorwegian Bokmål
- RegnbueaureNorwegian Bokmål
- regnbueørretNorwegian Bokmål
- forelDutch
- RegenboogforeDutch
- regenboogforelDutch
- regnbågsforellDutch
- zalmforelDutch
- regnbogeaureNorwegian Nynorsk
- Qiwahnuk
- سترنگی ٹراؤٹPunjabi
- pstrąg tęczowyPolish
- Truta-arco-írisPortuguese
- Pastrav curcubeuRomanian
- Păstrăv curcubeuRomanian
- МикижаRussian
- камчатская семгаRussian
- камчатский лососьRussian
- радужная форельRussian
- Forel raduzhnayaRussian
- MikizhaRussian
- MykizhaRussian
- Пструг дуговыйRusyn
- girjeluossaNorthern Sami
- pstruh dúhovýSlovak
- ŠarenkaSlovenian
- Trofta ylberiAlbanian
- trofta e KalifornisëAlbanian
- trofta e ylbertëAlbanian
- Trofte ylberiAlbanian
- PastrvaSerbian
- Дужичаста пастрмкаSerbian
- regnbågeSwedish
- RegnbågelaxSwedish
- RegnbågslaxSwedish
- ปลาเรนโบว์เทราต์Thai
- Trutsang bahaghariFilipino
- Alabalik türüTurkish
- Gökkuşağı alabalığıTurkish
- Gökkuşağı alabalığı veya ÇelikbaşTurkish
- MeliitTsimshian
- Форель райдужнаUkrainian
- Пструг райдужнийUkrainian
- Cá hồi vânVietnamese
- Trûte-airdièWalloon
- 虹鱒Chinese
- 虹鳟Chinese
- 麥奇大麻哈魚Chinese
- 麥奇鉤吻鮭Chinese
- 麥奇鉤吻鱒Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the rainbow trout
Other species in the same genus Oncorhynchus.
Pink salmon
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Chum salmon
Oncorhynchus keta
Sockeye salmon
Oncorhynchus nerka
Chinook salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Coho salmon
Oncorhynchus kisutch
Clark's trout
Oncorhynchus clarkii
CompareRainbow trout vs Pink salmonRainbow trout vs Chum salmonRainbow trout vs Sockeye salmonRainbow trout vs Chinook salmon
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 rainbow trout?
The rainbow trout is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Salmonidae in the order Salmoniformes.
What is the scientific name of the rainbow trout?
The scientific name of the rainbow trout is Oncorhynchus mykiss. It is placed in the genus Oncorhynchus.
What does the rainbow trout eat?
The main foods of the rainbow trout are algae, beetle, caddisfly, fish, formicidae, grasshopper, gryllidae, palinuridae, shrimp, teuthida and tipulidae.
Who named the rainbow trout?
The rainbow trout was named by Walbaum in 1792, with the authority written as (Walbaum, 1792).
What other names does the rainbow trout have?
Other English names for the rainbow trout are Baiser, Steelhead, Banana trout, Pacific trout and Redband trout.
What family does the rainbow trout belong to?
The rainbow trout belongs to the family Salmonidae, in the 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). Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rainbow-trout
“Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rainbow-trout.
@misc{rainbow_trout_2026,
title = {Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rainbow-trout},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}