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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Salvelinus malma
Dolly Varden

 
Scientific Name: Salvelinus malma (Walbaum, 1792)
English Name: Dolly Varden
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: F-SAMA
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Dec 2017)
Provincial Status: S4 (Jan 2012)
BC List: Yellow
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 4 - Secure (2005)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Global Reproduction Comments: Life history pattern varies with location and between anadromous and non-anadromous populations. In different areas spawns September-early November (in spring according to Page and Burr 1991). Eggs hatch usually in spring, 4.5 months after spawning. Young emerge late April to mid-May after about 18 days in gravel. Sexually mature usually in 3-6 years, lives maximum of probably 10-12 years. Some adults do not breed annually. Can experience high post-spawning mortality (Stearley 1992).
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		N /
Y /
Y /
na /
Global Migration Comments: Typically anadromous, but many populations landlocked (Lee et al. 1980). Anadromous populations migrate to spawning areas May-December (usually in fall, according to Page and Burr 1991).
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: Anadromous individuals occur in coastal seas (2-3 years) and in deep runs and pools of creeks and small to large rivers. Most dwarfed race populations seem to spend their lives in rivers and streams. Some landlocked populations inhabit lakes and tributary streams.
Food Habits: Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Piscivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Fry feed on insects and their larvae as well as small crustaceans. In streams young and adult fish feed on insects, spiders, annelids, snails, small fishes and fish eggs. In saltwater adults mainly eat small fishes and invertebrates.
Global Phenology:
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 50/ /
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Sea of Japan and Kuril Islands, across Aleutian chain to Alaska, north in Chukchi and Beaufort seas and south along North American Pacific coast to Puget Sound drainages, Washington, including islands off both Alaska and British Columbia where the bull trout does not occur. In Alaska, known from as far west as St. Matthew Island. Status north of the Seward Peninsula in Alaska is uncertain (Haas and McPhail 1991). A record from the McCloud River drainage, California, based on badly disintegrated specimens, probably pertains to the bull trout (the population is extirpated) (Hass and McPhail 1991). See Haas and McPhail (1991) for a fairly detailed map of Dolly Varden and bull trout distribution in North America. Common (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 1991).
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G.
Last Updated: Feb 26, 2001
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
Dolly Varden. 1999. B.C. Fish Facts. Conserv. Sect., Fish. Manage. Branch, B.C. Minist. Fish. 2pp.
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
McPhail, J.D. and C.C. Lindsey. 1970. Freshwater fishes of northwestern Canada and Alaska. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 173, Ottawa.
Morrow, J.E. 1980. The freshwater fishes of Alaska. Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Anchorage, AK. 248 pp.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lackner, R.N. Lea, and W.K. Scott. 1980. A List of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the US and Canada. 4th edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication No. 12, Bethesda, Maryland. 174 pp.
Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp.
Stearley, R. F. 1992. Historical ecology of Salmoninae, with special reference to Oncorhynchus. Pages 622-658 in R.L. Mayden, editor. Systematics, historical ecology, and North American freshwater fishes. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. xxvi + 969 pp.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2001. Proposed rule to list the Dolly Varden as threatened in Washington due to similarity of appearance to bull trout. Federal Register 66:1628-1631.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2001. Species Summary: Salvelinus malma. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 4, 2026).