Salvelinus malma
Dolly Varden
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Salmoniformes
Salmonidae (Trouts and Salmons)
Salvelinus
Salvelinus malma (Dolly Varden)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Body elongate, somewhat rounded, greatest body depth below dorsal fin. Head rather long. Pelvic fins with free-tipped fleshy appendage above its insertion. Caudal emarginate (Ref. 27547). Color varies with size, locality and habitat. Sea-run adults with back, upper head, and upper sides dark blue, the sides silvery to white. In freshwater populations, the back and upper sides are olive green to brown, the sides a paler color but bright red in spawning fish and at all times in some areas of Alaska, the underside white to dusky. The dorsal surface are marked with yellow, orange or red spots, more numerous and those along the lateral line smaller, than in arctic char. Spawning males, especially of anadromous populations, turn red on the ventral surface and tip of snout. The lower jaw, operculum and parts of the head are black, the back and sides turn olive-brown. The spots become more vivid orange-red, the pectoral and anal fins red-black with a white leading edge, the snout thickens and the lower jaw turns up. Females change less. Striking features: none.
Distribution
North America: Arctic and Pacific drainages from lower Mackenzie River in Northwest Territories, Canada to Puget Sound and Quinault River in Washington, USA (Ref. 86798). Northwest Pacific: Korea to Bering Sea (Ref. 2850).
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. benthopelagic. depth range 0-200 m. Found in: streams, lakes.
Biology
Occurs in deep runs and pools of creeks and small to large rivers; also in lakes and the sea (Ref. 5723, 86798). Lives in very clean mountain streams (Ref. 12218). Nerito-pelagic (Ref. 58426). Typically anadromous, but many populations are landlocked. Anadromous fish may spend 2-3 years at sea, evidently near shore, migrate upstream usually in fall, and spawn during spring (Ref. 86798). Young remain in streams for 3-4 years and feed on insects, leeches, snails, and salmon eggs (Ref. 1998) before entering brackish and salt water to feed on insects, fishes, and other invertebrates. Utilized fresh and eaten fried, broiled, and baked (Ref. 9988).
Max length: 127.0 cm TL; common length: 37.5 cm TL; max weight: 18300 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (brood hiders). Adults from the sea and lakes enter rivers to spawn. A female selects a nest site and begins to dig a redd while the male continues to court her and drive away intruding males. Upon completion of the redd, both drop into it and release eggs and sperm. This may be repeated several times before the eggs are covered by the female who swims along the edge of the of the redd, sweeping small pebbles and other particles into it with her tail and anal fin. Later, she may dig again and further cover the eggs while preparing a new nest (Ref. 27547). Breeding is an annual event for southern populations; occurring every second or third year in the Arctic (Ref. 27547). Males and females reportedly die after spawning (Ref. 12218).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2020-09-18. Resilience: Low (tm=3-5).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman (1973) Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184: xi+1-966.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.
Jeppson, P.W. and W.S. Platts (1959) Ecology and control of the Columbia squawfish in northern Idaho lakes. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 88(2):197-202.
Lamb, A. and P. Edgell (1986) Coastal fishes of the Pacific northwest. Madeira Park, (BC, Canada): Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd., 224 p.
Morton, W.M. (1982) Comparative catches and food habits of dolly varden and arctic chars, Salvelinus malma and S. alpinus, at Karluk, Alaska, in 1939-1941. Environ. Biol. Fishes 7(1):7-28.
Fedorov, V.V., I.A. Chereshnev, M.V. Nazarkin, A.V. Shestakov and V.V. Volobuev (2003) Catalog of marine and freswater fishes of the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2003. 204 p.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (2011) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p.
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