Lake Chars

Lake Chars 

forms of the arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) of the family Salmonidae; formerly they were regarded as the separate species S. lepechini. Lake chars are found in the lakes of Scotland, Scandinavia, the Alps, and the northern USSR. They inhabit Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega, and several deep lakes in Karelia and on the Kola Peninsula. Some varieties reach a length of 75 cm and a weight of 5–7 kg. The large forms are predators, whereas the small varieties feed on plankton and benthos.

The Russian common name for lake chars, palii, is sometimes used to designate all fishes of the genus Salvelinus; it is also used to designate fishes of the genus Cristivomer and the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis).