Grayling
Thymallus thymallus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The grayling (Thymallus thymallus), also called the European grayling, is a bony fish in the family Salmonidae and subfamily Thymallinae. It belongs to the genus Thymallus, order Salmoniformes and class Teleostei, within the phylum Chordata.
Quick facts about the grayling
The IUCN Red List assesses the grayling globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- 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 grayling
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the grayling live?
Not recorded
What is the grayling?
Thymallus thymallus, harjus, the grayling or European grayling, is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. It is the only species of the genus Thymallus (the graylings) native to Europe, where it is widespread from the United Kingdom and France to the Ural Mountains in Russia, and Balkans on the south-east, but does not occur in the southern parts of the continent. It was introduced to Morocco in 1948, but it does not appear to have become established there.
From the Wikipedia article “Thymallus thymallus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thymallus_thymallus&oldid=1356522623), 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 grayling endangered?
The grayling 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. What the categories mean.
How is the grayling classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderSalmoniformes
- familySalmonidae
- genusThymallus
- SpeciesThymallus thymallus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Salmo punctatus, Salmo striatus, Salmo thymallus, Salmo thymus, Thymallus aeliani, Thymallus decorus, Thymallus eliani, Thymallus gymnogaster, Thymallus gymnothorax, Thymallus thymallus kamensis, Thymallus thymallus lacustris, Thymallus umbrosa, Thymallus vexillifer, Thymallus vexillifer, Thymallus vexillifer, Thymallus vulgaris, Thymalus aeliani, Thymalus gymnogaster, Thymalus gymnothorax
Other names and names in other languages (57)
- European graylingEnglish
- European graylingEnglish
- Grayling [fish]English
- ЛіпеньBelarusian
- Звычайны харыусBelarusian
- ЛипанBulgarian
- lipanBulgarian
- lipаnBulgarian
- LipljenBosnian
- Thymallus thymallusCatalan
- Lipan podhorníCzech
- cangen lasWelsh
- Canghennau GlasWelsh
- stallingDanish
- Europæisk stallingDanish
- AschGerman
- ÄscheGerman
- AuchGerman
- Europäische ÄscheGerman
- OmbrettaGerman
- tímaloSpanish
- Tímalo ComúnSpanish
- harriFinnish
- harjusFinnish
- ombreFrench
- ombre communFrench
- ombre de rivièreFrench
- Pénzes pérHungarian
- temolaItalian
- temoloItalian
- kiršlysLithuanian
- Europinis kiršlysLithuanian
- AlataLatvian
- harrNorwegian Bokmål
- børtingNorwegian Bokmål
- graylingDutch
- vlagzalmDutch
- harrNorwegian Nynorsk
- lipieńPolish
- lipień europejskiPolish
- Lipień pospolityPolish
- Peixe-sombraPortuguese
- lipanRomanian
- Европейский хариусRussian
- хариус европейскийRussian
- hárriNorthern Sami
- soavvilNorthern Sami
- Lipeň tymiánovýSlovak
- lipanSlovenian
- losaAlbanian
- freskoriAlbanian
- ЛипљенSerbian
- harrSwedish
- gölge balığıTurkish
- ПерійUkrainian
- Харіус європейськийUkrainian
- 茴魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the grayling
Other species in the same genus Thymallus.
Bluefish
Thymallus arcticus
Mongolian grayling
Thymallus brevirostris
Baikal graying
Thymallus baicalensis
Yalu grayling
Thymallus yaluensis
Baikal white grayling
Thymallus brevipinnis
Amur grayling
Thymallus grubii
CompareGrayling vs BluefishGrayling vs Mongolian graylingGrayling vs Baikal grayingGrayling vs Yalu grayling
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 a grayling?
The grayling is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Salmonidae, subfamily Thymallinae, in the order Salmoniformes.
What is the scientific name of the grayling?
The scientific name of the grayling is Thymallus thymallus, placing it in the genus Thymallus.
Is the grayling endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses the grayling globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the grayling have?
Other English names for the grayling are Grayling [fish] and European grayling.
What family does the grayling belong to?
The grayling belongs to the family Salmonidae, in the subfamily Thymallinae.
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). Grayling (Thymallus thymallus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/thymallus-thymallus
“Grayling (Thymallus thymallus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/thymallus-thymallus.
@misc{thymallus_thymallus_2026,
title = {Grayling (Thymallus thymallus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/thymallus-thymallus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}