---
title: "Rainbow Trout"
description: "Oncorhynchus mykiss — Pesci. The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/rainbow-trout
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Rainbow Trout

> Oncorhynchus mykiss — Pesci. The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia.

- Scientific name: *Oncorhynchus mykiss*
- Category: `fish` (Pesci)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 27290
- Wikidata: [Q187986](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q187986)
- iNaturalist taxon: [47516](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47516)

## Names

- en: Rainbow Trout
- de: Regenbogenforelle
- es: Trucha arcoiris
- fr: Truite arc-en-ciel
- nl: Regenboogforel
- pt: Truta-arco-íris
- pl: Pstrąg tęczowy

## Countries with the most observations

US (17198), CA (2938), NZ (311), PT (276), AT (239), JP (220), DE (198), IT (195), AU (172), AR (168), FR (157), CL (150)

## Summary

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout (O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to freshwater to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean.
Adult freshwater stream rainbow trout average between 0.5 and 2.5 kilograms (1 and 5 lb), while lake-dwelling and anadromous forms may reach 9 kg (20 lb). Coloration varies widely based on subspecies, forms, and…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout

## Photo

![Rainbow Trout](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/rainbow-trout/medium.jpg)

Photo: khoberg · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/307081794

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/rainbow-trout?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).