Oncorhynchus masou formosanus

rdf:langString Oncorhynchus masou formosanus

rdf:langString formosanus

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Oncorhynchus

rdf:langString masou

rdf:langString CR

rdf:langString IUCN2.3

rdf:langString Oncorhynchus masou formosanus, the Formosan landlocked salmon or Taiwanese salmon, is a freshwater salmonid fish endemic to Taiwan. The Formosan landlocked salmon is a subspecies of the more widespread West-Pacific cherry salmon (or masu salmon). This Taiwanese subspecies is critically endangered, being at high risk for extinction, and is protected in its native habitat. The Formosan land-locked salmon is one of the rarest fish in the world. It was once a diet staple among Taiwanese aborigines like the Atayal people, who know this fish by several local names: bunban, mnbang and n'bang. Overfishing has led to its decline. Conservationists are trying to save this subspecies which is threatened nowadays mainly by pollution. By 1992, there were only 200 remaining according to official count. Over the next 20 years, the Taiwanese government, the Shei-Pa National Park Administration, as well as effective conservation efforts in Taiwan, restored the fish population to historical high of 12,587 in 2020. Formosan landlocked salmon are about a foot in length and inhabit cold, slow-flowing streams with gently sloping beds at elevations above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), such as the Stream and the (formerly named Hsuehshan Stream/Wuling Stream) in the upper reaches of the Tachia River, within the ranges of Shei-Pa National Park. The taxonomic rank of the endemic Taiwanese salmon is in dispute. Some authors consider it not distinct from the nominate cherry salmon (O. masou masou), others as a regional subspecies O. masou formosanus, and still others list is as a full species O. formosanus. At this time, these salmon represent the southernmost natural distribution of members of the family Salmonidae in Asia.