White-spotted Char (Freshwater Fish Pictorial Book, Series 1, revised by Yujin)

This figure is the White-spotted Char (also known as iwana in Japan), Salvelinus leucomaensis, number 02 from the first series. This salmon and trout relative is a fish found in East Asia, and can be landlocked or ocean-running. As with many Japanese fish models (though not all) it is widely fished for. TL of the White-spotted char is 120cm according to Fishbase, but everything else I found said 80cm. I may rethink the use of Fishbase.

[b]EDIT[/b]–okay, I looked on the same Fishbase entry, and after the SWA entry, there is a different paragraph that says 35cm for landlocked, 70cm for sea-going. I will need to be more careful. I’ll have to see if I can determine which version this should be.

This model is about 7 cm long, making the figure roughly (EDITED) 1:5 or 1:10, depending on what TL size you use. It is in a basic swim pose, and has the very characteristic salmonid look. The colouring is very detailed, with the distinct-but-graded coloring, spots and faint bars present, plus the noticeably red tail. This one is on the light brown river rock base. Overall the figure has a somewhat calm demeanor compared to some of the Yujin fish. As will be a running theme with many of the Japanese fish in the Yujin series, this species has shown up in other Japanese lines.

SUBSEQUENT UPDATE: White-spotted char are found in many parts of NORTHEST Asia (Kamchatka, Korean peninsula, Japan, and sea-run in the general vicinity), and currently divided into as many as 4 subspecies. Given the company, this model may be S. l. japonica, the Kiricuchi char, but no distinction was officially made by Yujin. Also, while I mentioned that this species has shown up in other Japanese lines, I should have been more clear that it is a relatively common fish figure among those companies in a variety of poses, sizes and price ranges.

More species update: The white-spotted char, like many char and trout, is a fish found in cool streams. The species (again, like most of the family) is carnivorous, feeding on invertebrates. IUCN status is unknown (but, as with all salmonids, rising water temperatures will likely have an impact).

Starting on the 14th of January, 2024, I migrated my first Yujin Freshwater Fish Pictorial walkaround post from the Animal Toy Forum to this blog, with the intention of moving all species’/figures’ walkarounds here. The initial post contained a lengthy explanation of the series (both the original and updated) that I don’t think should be repeated each time! For those details, the post can be seen at the first post. Then we can just get to the fish. Most of the details and writing will come from the original post, although I may supplement/add where appropriate.