Arctic rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax dentex) fish species and information / pictures of Arctic rainbow smelt - Osmerus mordax dentex

Arctic rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax dentex) fish species information

Scientific Name
Osmerus mordax dentex

Common Name
Arctic rainbow smelt

Biology
Inhabits brackish water of estuaries, lagoons, coastal shallows and bays, and fresh water in lowland and piedmont rivers (Ref. 59043). A schooling species that inhabits lakes or inshore coastal waters (Ref. 1998). Pelagic at the sea where it occurs at 4-8 m depth (Ref. 59043). In the spring, it leaves the sea or the lake and ascends freshwater streams to spawn. Some remain in fresh water throughout their lives (Ref. 1998); those that enter the sea stay within 8 to 10 km of the shore and probably do not stray far along the coast from the estuary (Ref. 28996). Spawns in rapids, in clear water, over stone-gravel bottom and at depth of 0.2-0.5 m (Ref. 59043). Possibly found up to 425 m depth (Ref. 6793). Young-of-the-year feed mostly on copepods and cladocerans, also rotifers, eggs and algae; adults feed on small crustaceans, fishes and shellfish, also squid, w

Classification

Classified By

Steindachner & Kner, 1870

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Smelts (Osmeriformes)

Family

Smelts (Osmeridae)

Distribution

Region

North Pacific and Arctic

Distribution

North Pacific and Arctic: Wonsan, North Korea and the Sea of Okhotsk to Barkley Sound, British Columbia, north to the Bering Sea and the Arctic (Ref. 6793). Estuaries and coastal waters of European and Siberian shores of Arctic ocean from White Sea to Chukota in eastern Siberia (Ref. 59043).

Range

Unknown

Environment

Climate

Polar

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

0 m

Depth To - meters

290 m

Zone

pelagic-neritic

Environment

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 290 m (Ref. 50550)

Trophic Level

4.2 s.e. 0.73 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

True

Occurs in Fresh Water

True

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

34.0 cm

Common Length

14.9 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = No PD50 data many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

High vulnerability (60 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2-3; tmax=7; Fec=1,700)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status