Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osmeriformes (Freshwater smelts) >
Osmeridae (Smelts)
Etymology: Hypomesus: Greek, hypo = under + Greek,mesos = a half (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; pelagic; anadromous (Ref. 51243). Temperate; 73°N - 38°N (Ref. 26213)
North America: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region in central California, USA.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 6 - ? cm
Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5723); common length : 6.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. reported age: 1.00 years (Ref. 12193)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 11; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 16 - 20; Vertebrae: 52 - 57. Vomer without posterior process; periphery of glossohyal bone with single row of conical teeth, central part toothless; pyloric caeca 4(2-5); base of adipose fin more than 20% of head length; eye large; adipose eyelid poorly developed.
Adults occur in open brackish and freshwater of large channels. Diet consists of zooplankton (Ref. 33312).
Eggs are demersal (Ref. 33312).
Saruwatari, T., J.A. López and T.W. Pietsch, 1997. A revision of the ormerid genus Hypomesus Gill (Teleostei: Salmoniformes), with a description of a new species from the southern Kuril Islands. Species Diversity 2:59-82. (Ref. 33312)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5313 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00372 (0.00178 - 0.00775), b=3.17 (2.99 - 3.35), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tm=1; tmax=1).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).