Wildlife
Brown trout start life on a diet of invertebrates, but later on some of them switch to eating fish. These larger, predatory individuals are sometimes known as ferox trout, and were once thought to be a different species. Sea trout are also the same species as the brown trout, but sea trout are migratory, heading out to sea for most of their life and returning to rivers to spawn.
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River of gold
Brown trout provide the economic incentive to manage a wildlife habitat.
Brown trout provide the economic incentive to manage a wildlife habitat.
Tracking sea trout
Iolo Williams searches a Welsh river to locate and film spawning sea trout.
Iolo Williams searches a Welsh river to locate and film spawning sea trout.
Trout sea change
Iolo Williams explains the transformation of brown trout into sea trout.
Iolo Williams explains the transformation of brown trout into sea trout.
Sea trout search
Underwater artist David Miller offers insights into the secret lives of sea trout.
Underwater artist David Miller offers insights into the secret lives of sea trout.
Ferox trout
There's another monster lurking in the depths of Loch Ness.
There's another monster lurking in the depths of Loch Ness.
The Brown trout can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Mediterranean, Russia, United Kingdom. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Brown trout distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Population trend: Unknown
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The brown trout (Salmo trutta) is an originally European species of salmonid fish. It includes both purely freshwater populations, referred to Salmo trutta morpha fario and S. trutta morpha lacustris, and anadromous forms known as the sea trout, S. trutta morpha trutta. The latter migrates to the oceans for much of its life and returns to freshwater only to spawn. Sea trout in the UK and Ireland have many regional names, including sewin (Wales), finnock (Scotland), peal (West Country), mort (North West England) and white trout (Ireland).
The specific epithet trutta derives from the Latin trutta, meaning, literally, "trout".
The lacustrine morph of brown trout is most usually potamodromous, migrating from lakes into rivers or streams to spawn, although evidence indicates stocks spawn on wind-swept shorelines of lakes. S. trutta morpha fario forms stream-resident populations, typically in alpine streams, but sometimes in larger rivers. Anadromous and nonanadromous morphs coexisting in the same river appear not to be genetically distinct. What determines whether or not they migrate remains unknown.
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Wild autumn
Autumn - a time of great change, of breathtaking migrations, of high drama.
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Migration
Adapted to swimming
Carnivorous
Egg layer
Semelparous
Spawning
Visual communication