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Osmerus mordax mordax

(Atlantic Rainbow Smelt)

Overview

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Family : Smelts ; A schooling species that occurs in midwater of lakes or inshore coastal waters [1]; at temperatures ranging from 7.2-15.6¦C. Migrates up to 1,000 km upstream in rivers [2]. Occurs possibly to 425 m [3]. Feeds on invertebrates such as amphipods , ostracods , aquatic insect larvae, and aquatic worms[1]. Headed , gutted , sold fresh, frozen and precooked. Eaten sautTed and fried[4].

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Danish:

Amerikansk Smelt

Common Names in English:

American Smelt, Atlantic Pygmy Skate, Atlantic Rainbow Smelt, Bay Capelin, Bay Caplin, Freshwater Smelt, Frost Fish, Leefish, Ooutside Caplin, Outside Capelin, Rainbow Smelt, Smelt, Toothed Smelt, White-Fish

Common Names in French:

Éperlan à Petite Bouche

Common Names in German:

Amerikanischer Stint, Regenbogenstint

Common Names in Inuktitut:

Ichloanik, Ilhuagnik, Iquar-Niq, Ithoanin

Common Names in Other:

Qiqotiliqaoraq

Common Names in Spanish:

Eperlano Americano

Description

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Family Osmeridae

Anadromous , freshwater (coastal) and marine . Distribution: Northern Hemisphere in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. No axillary process on pelvics . Pelvic fin rays 8. Principal caudal rays 19; unbranched rays 2. Branchiostegal rays 6-10. Premaxillary and maxillary teeth present. Teeth on inner mouth bones and dentary. Mesocoracoid present. No orbitospehnoid. Pyloric caeca 1-11, or absent. Last vertebra directed upward. Color silvery. About 40 cm maximum length ; most species below 20 cm.The family Osmeridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Osmeriformes. It contains 7 genera and 13 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Peripheral/diadromous. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is carangiform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. This family may be found from 80° n to 10° s and 180° w to 180° e. Etymology of this family name : Greek, osme = bad smelling

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,179 meters (0 to 3,868 feet).[5]

Biome: Fresh water , brackish water, saltwater . Pelagic .

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Atherina mordax Mitchill, 1814
  2. Osmerus mordax (Non Mitchill, 1814)

Misapplied Names

  1. Osmerus dentex (non Steindachner & Kner, 1870)

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Osmerus

There are approximately 44 species in this genus:

O. abbottii · O. albatrossis · O. albidus · O. arcticus · O. attenuatus · O. mordax subsp. mordax · O. dilatus · O. dvinensis · O. elongatus · O. eperanus · O. eperlanomarinus · O. eperlans · O. eperlanus (European Seabass) · O. eperlanus dentex · O. eperlanus eperlanus · O. eperlanus mordax · O. eperlanus schonfoldi · O. eperlanus spirinchus · O. eperlarus · O. fasciatus · O. hebridicus · O. japonicus · O. lemniscatus · O. microdon · O. mordax (Atlantic Rainbow Smelt) · O. mordax dentex (Arctic Rainbow Smelt) · O. mordax mordax (Atlantic Rainbow Smelt) · O. morday · O. mordox · O. nehereus · O. oligodon · O. pacificus · O. pretiosus · Aulopus filamentosus · O. sergeanti · O. spectrum (Pigmy Smelt) · O. spini · O. spirinchus · O. starksi · O. stevensi · O. thaleichthys · O. villosus · O. virescens · O. viridescens

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman (1973). Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184:1-966. [back]
  2. Allen, M.J. and G.B. Smith (1988). Atlas and zoogeography of common fishes in the Bering Sea and northeastern Pacific. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 66, 151 p. [back]
  3. Mitchill, S.L. (1814). Report in part of Samuel L. Mitchill, M.D., on the fishes of New York. New York. 28 p. (reprinted, 1898 with an introduction and concordance of species by T.N. Gill). [back]
  4. Frimodt, C. (1995). Multilingual illustrated guide to the world's commercial coldwater fish. Fishing News Books, Osney Mead, Oxford, England. 215 p. [back]
  5. Mean = 101.350 meters (332.513 feet), Standard Deviation = 225.240 based on 973 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 2009-05-08