MASTERS OF THE WATER-BONY FISHES 



189 



Fig. 95. American smelt. 



finest of all pan fishes. They are slim of body and very similar to the salmonids, 

 being separated from them by internal characters. 



Smelts are schooling, shallow-water fishes which feed mainly on smaller fishes 

 and crustaceans. Like salmon, they enter fresh waters to breed and may become 

 landlocked. Most of them are characteristic of north temperate and arctic seas. 



AMERICAN SMELT: Osuiems viordax 



Size: Averages 8 inches. Up to 14 inches. 



Weight: Up to 1 pound. 



Distrihiition: The St. Lawrence River to Virginia. 



Identification: There is a broad silvery stripe along the lateral line. 



Hahits: Smelts school in huge numbers and enter fresh water in late winter 

 or early spring to breed, laying thousands of eggs. They prefer cool waters and 

 move offshore in the summer. Several eastern lakes, such as Lake Champlain 

 and some of the Great Lakes, have landlocked forms of this fish. These are 

 active little fishes which feed mainly on small fishes and shrimplike crustaceans. 



Similar Species: The surf smelt or whitebait, Hypoviesiis pretiosus, has the 

 dorsal fin inserted anteriorly to the pelvic and is similar to the American smelt. 

 It is found from Alaska to central California. 



LIZARD FISHES: Family Synodontidae 



These are shallow-water members of a largely deep-sea group, the lantern 

 fishes, which is often placed in a separate order, Iniomi, by ichthyologists. They 

 are rather troutlike with long round bodies, large jaws, an adipose fin, and 

 ventral fins that are larger than the pectorals. All the lizard fishes are fiercely 

 predatory. They sit on the bottom, resting on their ventral fins until some 

 unsuspecting fish or crustacean swims by. Then they rush so quickly at the 

 prey that the movement can hardly be seen. They prefer sand bottoms but may 

 be found about reefs and rocks as well as over mud and grass. 



This is one of the groups in which the normal swimming pattern has been 

 altered. For sudden rushes, the tail fin is used, but lizard fishes do not often 

 swim when at leisure, preferring to creep about on the bottom on their very 

 large pelvic fins. The pectorals are held out like wings and are probably used 

 as planing devices in their sudden rushes after prey. Lizard fishes are usually 

 sandy-colored with dark blotches, and the head has a distinctly lizardlike 

 appearance. They are found in the shallow, warm seas of the world. 



