American smelt (Cucurigeo)

Japanese: キュウリウオ(胡瓜魚) - キュウリウオ（英語表記）American smelt

A fish of the family Osmeridae (illustration) in the order Salmoniformes. It is closely related to smelt and Shishamo. It is a northern fish that is found throughout the northern Pacific Ocean, and in Japan, it is caught north of Hokkaido. Its body color is light brown on the back and white under the belly. It has an oily fin. It is similar to Shishamo, but can be distinguished by its large mouth and powerful teeth. It comes close to the shore to spawn from May to August, then swims up the river mouth and lays spherical, attached eggs on the sandy gravel bottom in shallow waters. It matures at two years of age, and lays 20,000 to 60,000 eggs. Even the largest ones are only about 25 cm in length.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

サケ目キュウリウオ科の魚（イラスト）。ワカサギ，シシャモなどに近縁。北方系の魚で太平洋北部一帯に分布し，日本では北海道以北で漁獲される。体色は背部は淡い茶色，腹部は白色である。あぶらびれをもつ。シシャモに似ているが，口が大きく歯も強大であることで区別できる。5～8月ころ産卵のために岸に寄り，河口を遡行し浅瀬の砂れき底に球形の付着卵を産みつける。2歳で成熟し，産卵数は2万～6万個に達する。大きなものでも全長25cmほどである。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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