Arctic Grayling

Introduction

The Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), a species of salmonid, is native to the waterways draining into the Arctic and Pacific Oceans in Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. This cold-water species is also found in the upper Missouri River drainage in Montana.

Arctic graylings can be identified by their oversized dorsal fin with cross-rows of deep blue spots. They also have a forked tail.

They also have been introduced into various waterways in the continental United States, such as in the White Mountains of Arizona.  Although introduced populations in California and Nevada are considered extirpated, one occasionally hears an odd report of them being caught.