The gillaroo (''Salmo stomachicus''; historically included in ) is a species of

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

which eats primarily

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s and is only proven to inhabit

Lough Melvin Lough Melvin ( ; ) is a lake in the northwest of the island of Ireland on the border between County Leitrim (in Republic of Ireland, Ireland) and County Fermanagh (in the United Kingdom). It is internationally renowned for its unique range of p ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The name gillaroo is derived from the Irish for "red fellow" (); this is due to the fish's distinctive colouring. It has a bright, buttery golden colour in its flanks with bright

crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red col ...

and

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

spots. The gillaroo is characterised by these deep red spots and a "

gizzard The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals, including archosaurs (birds and other dinosaurs, crocodiles, alligators, pterosaurs), earthworms, some gast ...

", which is used to aid the digestion of hard food items such as water snails. Experiments carried out by

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

established that the Lough Melvin fish are different from brown trout found anywhere else in the world. They feed almost exclusively on bottom living animals (snails, sedge fly larva and freshwater prawns) except during late summer. It is at this time that they come to surface to feed and may be caught on the dry fly. Other lakes reputed to contain the gillaroo are Loughs Neagh, Conn,

Mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

and Corrib. However the unique gene found in the Lough Melvin trout has not been found in some 200 trout populations in Ireland and Britain. It is therefore now recognised using its own original scientific name, rather than continued inclusion in the widespread , with which it had been synonymised. In addition to the gillaroo, Lough Melvin is thought to harbour another two peculiar species of trout, apart from salmon and an endemic species of char. However, Irish authorities do not distinguish the gillaroo as a separate species from brown trout.Brown trout
. Inland Fisheries Ireland (13.4.2012) Legend has it that

St. Brigid Saint Brigid of Kildare or Saint Brigid of Ireland (; Classical Irish: ''Brighid''; ; ) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish ...

was offered chicken to eat on a Friday as she walked through

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, County Fermanagh. Chicken being forbidden on Fridays for members of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

faith, she was so enraged she threw the entire bird into the river, whereupon it changed into a fish; hence, the "gizzard".

See also

References

Further reading