Fishes of the JVestern North Atlantic 559 



Osmerus eperlanus (Linnaeus) 1758 



mordax Mitchill i 8 1 5 



American Smelt, Icefish 



Figures 131, 132 



Study Material. Many specimens: 80, 67— 230 mm SL, from various coastal 

 and estuarine situations along the coast of eastern North America from Cape Breton 

 (Nova Scotia) southward to New Jersey; numerous specimens from various land- 



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Figure 131. Osmerus eperlanus mordax, adult, about 260 mm long (10.4 in.), from Woods Hole, Massachusetts. 

 Drawn by H. L. Todd. 



locked situations in New England and New York state; 19, 104—206 mm long, from 

 Bristol Bay, St. Michaels, and Port Clarence in Alaska, Kamchatka, and northern Japan. 

 Also, for comparison, 7 specimens of O. eperlanus eperlanus from Le Havre, France; 

 the Elbe River; and Lake Oppmanna, southern Sweden; all in MCZ and USNM. 



Distinctive Characters. Western North Atlantic fishes with which O. e. mordax 

 might be confused are Mallotus villosus (capelin, p. 576), a near relative, Argentina 

 (argentine. Part 4), or one of the silversides (family Atherinidae), to which it is only 

 remotely related. Its much larger scales, smaller adipose fin, and less projecting lower 

 jaw are enough to mark it off from M. villosus \ its very much larger mouth and the 

 more forward position of its pelvic fins separate it from Argentina; and even the most 

 cursory examination should be enough to separate it from the silverside, for the latter 

 has two dorsal fins with the first supported by spines, no adipose fin, pelvics standing 

 considerably anterior to the first dorsal fin, and a mouth much smaller than that of 

 O. e. mordax. 



Description. Based on 10 specimens: 9, 150-230 mm SL, and i, 97 mm SL, from 

 several localities between Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) and southern Massachusetts. 



Body elongated, moderately compressed (Fig. 131), the dorsal and ventral profiles 

 of head and trunk slightly convex, the dorsal profile a little more so than ventral profile; 



