Salmo ischchan Kessler, 1877
Sevan trout, ishkhan
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonyms: Salmo ischchan danilewskii Gulelmi, 1888; Salmo danilewskii Gulelmi, 1888
The danilewskii subspecies may be valid, in which case it would also be considered Extinct (Nedoluzhko et al., 2018; Freyhof, 2026). However, Freyhof et al. (2025:639) note: "The name S. danilewskii has been used for small individuals feeding on gammarids and plankton. Salmo danilewskii is a synonym, and these fish were most likely small individuals of S. ischchan."
Conservation Status
Extinct (Freyhof et al., 2025; Freyhof, 2026)
Last record: 19 May 1975 or later; before 1980s (Freyhof, 2026)
IUCN RedList status: Extinct
Distribution & Habitat
Lake Sevan drainage, Armenia
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Kessler, Karl Fedorovich. (1877). The Aralo-Caspian Expedition. IV. Fishes of the Aralo-Caspio-Pontine Ichthyological Region. St. Petersburg, i-xxviii + 1-360, Pls. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.159366
Other references:
Bogdanowicz, Wiesław, Rutkowski, Robert, Gabrielyan, Bardukh K., Ryspaev, Akylbek, Asatryan, Anzhela N., Mkrtchyan, Jon A. and Bujalska, Barbara M. (2017). Fish introductions in the former Soviet Union: The Sevan trout (Salmo ischchan) — 80 years later. PLoS ONE 12(7): e0180605. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180605
Freyhof, J. (2019). Salmo ischchan. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T54923065A54923090. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T54923065A54923090.en. Accessed on 23 July 2026.
Freyhof, J. (2026). Salmo ischchan. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T54923065A156769240. Accessed on 20 July 2026.
Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash and Kaya, Cüneyt. (2025). Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia. Berlin & Boston: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111677811 [pp. 638-639]
Gabrielyan, B. K. (2001). An annotated checklist of freshwater fishes of Armenia. Naga 24: 23-29.
Gulelmi, M. (1888). Lake Gokcha (Sevan) and its fisheries. Vestnik Rybopromyshlennosti St. Petersburg v. 3 (no. 2): 33-52. [In Russian. Author wrongly cited as Yakovlev in literature.]
Levin, B., E. Simonov, B.K. Gabrielyan, R.L. Mayden, S.M. Rastorguev, H.R. Roubenyan, F.S. Sharko and A.V. Nedoluzhko. (2022). Caucasian treasure: Genomics sheds light on the evolution of half-extinct Sevan trout, Salmo ischchan, species flock. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 167: 107346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107346
Nedoluzhko, Artem V. et al. (2018). Two complete mitochondrial genomes of extinct form of the Sevan trout Salmo ischchan danilewskii. Mitochondrial DNA Part B: Resources 3(1): 40-41.
Savvaitova, K.A., Petr, T. (1999). Fish and fisheries in Lake Sevan, Armenia, and in some other high altitude lakes of Caucasus, pp. 279-304. In: Petr, T. (Editor). Fish and Fisheries at Higher Altitudes: Asia. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 385. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome. 304 pages.
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/23086/salmo-ischchan-danilewskii