EuropeNear threatened
Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar
A fish that is born in rivers, grows up in the sea and comes back to its home river to lay its eggs.
- Weight
- Usually 3–6 kg
- Size
- Up to 1 m long
- Lifespan
- Up to 8 years
- Top speed
- Leaps over 3 m high
- Diet
- Insects, then fish and shrimps
How heavy is that?
About 15% of a 40 kg kid
Where it lives
Three things to know
- It finds its home river by smell.
- It can leap up waterfalls more than 3 m high.
- Rivers like the Sella in Asturias still have wild salmon.
Compare with…
- Weight
- Atlantic salmon6 kgA 10-year-old kid40 kgThe kid weighs about 7× as much as the Atlantic salmon
- Size
- Atlantic salmon1 mA 10-year-old kid1.4 mThe kid is about 1.4× as big as the Atlantic salmon
- Top speed
- Atlantic salmon—A 10-year-old kid20 km/hToo slow to time
- Lifespan
- Atlantic salmon8 yrsA 10-year-old kid80 yrsThe kid can live about 10× as long as the Atlantic salmon
Food chain
- InsectsProducer
Atlantic salmonThis animal- Otter