''Salmo nigripinnis'', also known as the sonaghen, is a species of fish within the family
Salmoninae
Salmonidae (, ) is a family of ray-finned fish, the only extant member of the suborder Salmonoidei, consisting of 11 extant genera and over 200 species collectively known as "salmonids" or "salmonoids". The family includes salmon (both Atlantic a ...
.
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]
Description
''Salmo nigripinnis'' can range in body colour from light brown to silver, with large black spots. Fins of the species are dark brown or black, with elongated pectoral fins.
Distribution and habitat
''Salmo nigripinnis'' is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to 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 ...
. Lough Melvin's waters cross the northwest border of the Republic of Ireland (County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
) into Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
's County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
, meaning that this species lake habitat is in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.[
''S. nigripinnis'' live in open areas of the lake in deep water.]Cladocera
The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, is a superorder (biology), superorder of small, mostly freshwater crustaceans, most of which feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter, though some forms are predatory.
Over 1000 sp ...
and aquatic chironomid
Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid s ...
pupae of which ''S. nigripinnis'' feeds.
References
Further reading
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q146152
Fish described in 1866
Freshwater fish of Ireland
nigripinnis
Taxa named by Albert Günther