Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) [I]—Rainbow trout Taxonomy. Original description: Salmo mykiss Walbaum 1792: 59 (Kamchatka, Russia; no types known).— Afghanistan synonyms: Salmo gairdnerii Richardson, 1836.—Revisions: Berg (1948: 267) as Salmo mykiss; Stearley & Smith (1993: 21) as Oncorhynchus mykiss mykiss.—Illustration: Berg (1948: 268, fig. 155) as Salmo mykiss. Status in Afghanistan. First record from Afghanistan by Dupree (1973); confirmed by Coad (1981: 8 as Salmo gairdnerii; 2014: 318).—Afghanistan materials: None. Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Afghanistan: This species is mostly cultured cold water fish. Can not be breeding in the wild water. Therefore, can find around fish farming facility are established in suitable habitats.— General distribution: North Pacific and adjacent basins; widely introduced elsewhere.—Habitat: This species occurs in various habitats, including clear, small to large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Freshwater, brackish, marine. Economic importance. Commercially important. Reasons of introduction. Aquaculture/research. Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species). Remarks. About 500.000 fingerlings have been released into Salang and Panjsher rivers (Coad 1981; Duppre 1973). This species does not reproduce naturally in the wild. It may be locally present due to specimens escaping from fish farms.

Published as part of Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Eagderi, Soheil, Sungur, Sevil, Coad, Brian W & Hamdard, Mohammad Hamid, 2023, Fishes of Afghanistan; a revised and updated annotated checklist, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 5305 (1) on pages 42-43, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5305.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8048564