A Key to Five Species of Pacific Salmon (Genus Oncorhynchus) Based on Scale Characters

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Abstract
A key based on differences in scale structure was derived to separate the five North American species of Pacific salmon. For maturing individuals the key was effective in identifying precisely to species 100% of the sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka), over 95% of the pinks (O. gorbuscha), over 90% of the chums (O. keta) and of the chinooks (O. tshawytscha), and between 14 and 67% of the coho (O. kisutch) examined. In all but a few of the remaining cases (in which the exact species could not be identified), the specimens were designated correctly as being one of two or three species. Only a few misclassifications (20 of the 3035 individuals examined) occurred. For sockeye the power of separation of the key for fish with only one ocean annulus was about the same as that for the matures but its ability to identify precisely chums and chinooks was lower.

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