Description
Smelts resemble salmon in appearance, but are smaller, usually reaching only around 20 centimetres (7.9 in), although some species can reach as much as 70 centimetres (28 in). Indeed, smelts are a food source for salmon and lake trout. Like salmon, many species are anadromous, living most of their lives in the sea, but traveling into fresh water to breed. However, there are a few exceptions, such as the surf smelt, which spend their entire lives at sea.
Smelt roe is bright orange in color, and is often used to garnish sushi.
Family Osmeridae
| Osmeridae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cladogram of the Osmeridae family. It has recently been suggested that Salangidae and Plecoglossus might be sister clades to the osmerid genera. |
Read more about this topic: Smelt (fish)
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)