How many species of Pacific salmon are there?
Pacific salmon is a generic term used to describe those members of the genus Oncorhynchus that die after spawning. At present, there are seven species commonly referred to as Pacific salmon. There are five species that occur on both sides of the Pacific Ocean: Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) a.k.a. king salmon, chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) a.k.a. dog salmon, coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) a.k.a. silver salmon, pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) a.k.a. humpback salmon, and sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) a.k.a. red salmon. Two species occur only in Asia: masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) a.k.a. yamame, and amago salmon (Oncorhynchus rhodurus) a.k.a. biwamasu. An excellent discussion of the varied life histories of these seven species can be found in C. Groot and L. Margolis [editors] 1991. Pacific Salmon Life Histories, University of British Columbia Press, 564 pp.
