The Eurasian Huchen, Hucho hucho - Largest Salmon of the World

The need to gather available data on the Eurasien huchen - an important salmonid species - has been forced by a plain and, unfortunately, common fact of our times: the numbers and distribution of this biggest of salmonids have begun to decline and its range has begun to shrink. A seminar on the huchen - the European form of the species Hucha hucha - held in Zilina in February 1973 as a result of a suggestion of the Section for the Conservation of Fauna of the Slovak Zoological Society, indicated very clearly the sad situation. Data on the biology of the huchen are regrettably scarce despite several recent papers (Ivaska 1951, Svetina 1962, Prawochenski and Kolder 1968) with the aim of filling this gap. Supposing that without a thorough knowledge it is practically impossible to conserve any plant or animal species, the participants of the seminar concluded that the existing knowledge on the huchen should be compiled in an exhaustive monograph. The first such outline originated in 1 977 under the authorship of J. Holcik, K. Hensel and L. Skacel, and was submitted as a research report to some of the central authorities. Even during the compilation of the report it became evident, however, that there is no difference between the huchen and its relative, the taimen. Consequently, we immediately began revising our first report, which took over three years.

Inhaltsverzeichnis:

I - Taxonomy, Systematics and Evolution.- 1. Nomenclature.- 2. Taxonomy and Systematics.- 3. Origin, Evolution and Phylogeny.- 4. Vernacular Names.- 5. Morphology.- 6. Protein Specificity.- II - Distribution.- 7. Geographical Distribution.- 8. Habitat.- III - Bionomics and Ecology.- 9. Reproduction and Development.- 10. Age and Growth.- 11. Trophic Ecology.- 12. Predation.- 13. Predators and Enemies.- 14. Population.- 15. Migration and Territory.- 16. Diseases, Parasites, Abnormalities and Injuries.- 17. Hardiness.- 18. Present Status.- IV - Utilization.- 19. Economic Importance and Exploitation.- 20. Protection and Management.- 21. Introduction and Acclimatization.- V - Farming.- 22. History.- 23. Huchen Farm.- 24. Technology of Parent Fish Breeding.- 25. Artificial Reproduction.- 26. Egg Incubation and Hatching.- 27. Rearing Young Huchen.- 28. Rearing Recruits.- 29. Sanitary Problems.- 30. Dispatch and Transport.- Epilogue.- References.- Index of Scientific Names.- Index of Geog raphical Names.

Rezension:

I highly recommend the book to those interested in salmonids, for zoologists involved with the specialized areas of the book, and for libraries. It delivers a sound message - to save the huchen - and serves a valuable function in bringing together the extensive literature of this species of superlatives. Copeia, 2, 1991