THE SMELTS 



smelt." It ranges along our Atlantic coast from 

 Virginia northward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 

 entering streams and frequently becoming land- 

 locked. It is very abundant in Lakes Champlain 

 and Memphremagog, and is technically known as 

 Osmerus mordax, the generic title being from the 

 Greek, signifying " odorous," the Greek word be- 

 ing equivalent to the English "smelt." The spe- 

 cific name is from the Latin, mordax, " biting," 

 no doubt because of the bait-taking greediness of 

 this fish, as well as the formation of its teeth. It 

 has a large head and mouth; strong fang-like 

 teeth on the tongue and front part of the roof of 

 the mouth ; a projecting snout, the dorsal fin be- 

 ing situated nearer the caudal than usual. Its 

 coloration is transparent green above, and silvery 

 on the sides. 



The other two species are landlocked in New 

 England waters, and are merely subspecific forms 

 of the " American smelt " {Osmerus mordax). One 

 of them is known as the " Wilton smelt," and is 

 found in a pond of that name, located in Kenne- 

 bec County, Maine. It is a smaller fish than the 

 common smelt, and has a larger eye, no other 

 structural differences or habitat have as yet been 

 discovered. The second of these exclusively land- 

 locked smelts exist in Cobessicontic Lake, Kenne- 

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