Specimen Information

Osmerus mordax
Osmerus mordax
(Rainbow Smelt)
Fishes
Native Transplant

Specimen ID35373
GroupFishes
GenusOsmerus
Speciesmordax
Common NameRainbow Smelt
StateMI
LocalityLake Michigan
Mapping AccuracyCentroid
Centroid Type 
HUC8 NameLake Michigan
HUC8 Number04190000
Map
+
Collection Year1923
Year AccuracyActual
Potential Pathwaystocked for forage
Statusestablished
Reference 1
Ref. Number:460
Author:Emery, L.
Date:1985
Title:Review of fish introduced into the Great Lakes, 1819-1974. Technical Report No. 45.
Publisher:Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, MI.
Pages:31 pp
Reference 2
Ref. Number:275
Author:Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr.
Date:1980
Title:Atlas of North American freshwater fishes.
Publisher:North Carolina State Museum of Natural History
Issue:12
Pages:854 pp
CommentsThe 1912 stocking of smelt eggs in Crystal Lake, MI, which drains into Lake Michigan is credited with the establishment of the species in Lake Michigan and eventually the other lakes but Ontario. Origin of smelt in Lake Ontario is controversial.
Record TypeLiterature
Freshwater/MarineFreshwater


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Citation information: U.S. Geological Survey. [2024]. Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. Gainesville, Florida. Accessed [11/23/2024].

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