| Family: |
Osmeridae (Smelts) |
| Max. size: |
35.6 cm TL (male/unsexed); max. reported age: 7 years |
| Environment: |
pelagic-oceanic; freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 425 m, anadromous |
| Distribution: |
North Atlantic: Atlantic drainages from Lake Melville in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada to Delaware River in Pennsylvania, USA and west through Great lakes. Arctic and Pacific drainages from Bathurst Inlet, Northwest Territories to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Also Pacific drainages of Asia. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8-8; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 12-16; Vertebrae: 58-70. Body elongate, laterally compressed, greatest depth at anterior of dorsal fin origin. Head moderate; eye moderately large; snout elongate, pointed. Mouth large; lower jaw protruding, maxillary extending to middle of eye or beyond, well toothed on vomer, palatine, pterygoid, basibranchial, dentary, maxillary, and tongue. Teeth specially enlarged on tongue and front of vomer. Body color is pale green on back, with purple, blue, and pink iridescent reflections on the side when freshly caught. |
| Biology: |
Nerito-pelagic (Ref. 58426). Inhabits cool clear lakes, medium to large rivers, and coastal waters (Ref. 86798). A schooling species that occurs in midwater of lakes or inshore coastal waters (Ref. 1998); at temperatures ranging from 7.2-15.6°C. Coastal population are anadromous (Ref, 86798). Migrates up to 1,000 km upstream in rivers (Ref. 6793). Occurs possibly to 425 m (Ref. 2851). Feeds on invertebrates such as amphipods, ostracods, aquatic insect larvae and aquatic worms (Ref. 1998); food also include copepods, euphausiids, mysids and small fishes (silversides, mummichogs and herring) (Ref. 5951, 10294). Headed, gutted, sold fresh, frozen and precooked. Eaten sautéed and fried (Ref. 9988). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 01 March 2012 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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