Specimen Information

Osmerus mordax
Osmerus mordax
(Rainbow Smelt)
Fishes
Native Transplant

Specimen ID35640
GroupFishes
GenusOsmerus
Speciesmordax
Common NameRainbow Smelt
StateMN
LocalityLake Superior
Mapping AccuracyApproximate
HUC8 NameLake Superior
HUC8 Number04180000
Map
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Collection Year1985
Year AccuracyPublication Year
Potential Pathwaystocked escaped
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 [12/3/2024].

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