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PHYLUM:
Chordata; CLASS: Osteichthyes; SUPERORDER: Teleostei
FAMILY: Osmeridae
GENUS: Osmerus SPECIES: mordax DESCRIBER:
(Mitchill)
Position
of Osmerus
mordax in
worldwide arrangement of fish species.
What
are RAINBOW
SMELT?
Rainbow Smelt are
rather small, elongate and slender 17 - 20 cm (7 - 8 in)
in length, laterally compressed minnow-like fish of the
family Osmeridae. They are pale green on their backs;
purple, blue and/or pink iridescence
on their sides; and their fins are either clear or blackish.
They appear to be closely associated with the Atlantic
coastal drainage system from New Jersey north to Labrador.
Rainbow
Smelt living along the Atlantic coast are
anadromous, i.e., they leave the sea or large lakes and
ascend freshwater streams to spawn. Besides anadromous
populations, landlocked Rainbow
Smelt occur in many inland lakes in parts
of eastern North America. Rainbow
Smelt eat opossum
shrimp, aquatic insect larvae, aquatic
worms, aquatic crustacea and fish. (See: Fishbase)
EARLY
LIFE HISTORY of RAINBOW
SMELT:
Spawning
Season of Adult RAINBOW SMELT: Early to late spring,
March, April and May.
Where RAINBOW SMELT Eggs are Found: Most adult
RAINBOW SMELT are anadromous, ascending streams shortly
after ice-out, but in landlocked populations shore
and/or shoal spawning in lakes is also prominent.
Females randomly release the eggs at which time the
eggs become adhesive. The eggs become attached with
stalks or pedicels to gravel, sticks, aquatic plants
and other solid items in streams and to similar solid
items along shores and over sandy and gravelly shoals
in the lake proper.
Characteristics
of Eggs: Adhesive, transparent, numerous oil globules;
diameter of eggs 0.8 mm to 1.3 mm. The outer coat of the
egg separates and everts to form a stalk or pedicel which
attaches to the substrate.
Size
of Babies at Hatching:
4 mm to 6 mm at 19 days to 29 days of incubation.
Movements of RAINBOW SMELT Babies after hatching: Baby
RAINBOW SMELT hatch from their stalks or pedicels
in small streams or creeks and drift down with
the fast currents and move out into open limnetic,
near– surface,
areas in large numbers, not in schools but
in large aggregations. They were caught in large
numbers in limnetic areas (Ref. 17).
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