Lake Trout
Geography: Canada, Saskatchewan: Lake Athabasca
Date: August 1961
Dimensions:maximum length=1270 mm
Taxonomy
- Attributes
- Objects
- Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Animalia
- Phylum:
Chordata
- Class:
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
- Order:
Salmoniformes
- Family:
Salmonidae
- Genus:
Salvelinus
- SpecificEpithet:
namaycush
Object number: 30000
DescriptionThis cast is of the largest known Lake Trout and made from the specimen now preserved in the ROM’s fish collection. It was caught in a gill net in Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan. This female was relatively young (20-25 years), measured 126 cm (49.5 inches) in length and weighed 46.3 kg (102 pounds). Dr. Helen Battle of the University of Western Ontario examined its gonads (reproductive organs that produce eggs), and determined that it had never been sexually mature. The obesity of this fish is likely a result of her sterility. Instead of expending energy in producing eggs, she was able to devote all her energy into putting on weight.
