Salmo platycephalus, Behnke, 1968

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 647

Salmo platycephalus

Common name. Flathead trout.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Salmo in Mediterranean basin by: ● head dorso-ventrally flattened / ● flank marbled or mottled without red spot in individuals larger than 70 mm SL, without black spots in individuals larger than about 200 mm SL / ● 12–13 parr marks up to about 70 mm SL / ○ lower jaw enclosed laterally by fleshy maxilla / ○ four broad dark-brown or grey bands on flank, indistinct in individuals smaller than about 170 mm SL / ○ one black spots behind eye / ○ 7–16 very indistinct black spots on opercle / ○ maxilla short, narrow anterior part short / ○ maxilla and supramaxilla wide (depth of upper jaw 2.2–2.7 times in length of maxilla) / ○ 110–116 lateral-line scales counted until end of hypural complex / ○ 23–25 scale rows between dorsal origin and lateral line / ○ 17–18 scale rows between anal origin and lateral line / ○ 13–15 scale rows between adipose origin and lateral line / ● 23–25 gill rakers. Size up to 600 mm SL.

Habitat. Clear and moderately fast-flowing streams with rocky and pebbly bottoms.

Salmo rizeensis ; Çoruh drainage, Türkiye; ~ 150 mm SL. © M. Özuluğ.

Biology. Spawns October–middle December.

Distribution. Türkiye: Soğuksu, Uzunyayla, and Karagöz in upper Zamantı drainage.

Conservation status. EN; believed to decline due to many threats in its small range.

Further reading. Behnke 1968 (description); Sušnik et al. 2004 (phylogenetic position); Kara et al. 2011 (morphology, biology); Turan et al. 2012b (diagnosis); Hashemzadeh Segherloo et al. 2021 (genomics).