Shishamo (smelt) - Shishamo (English spelling)

Japanese: シシャモ(柳葉魚) - シシャモ（英語表記）shishamo smelt

A fish of the family Osmeridae (illustration) of the order Salmoniformes. It looks similar to a Japanese smelt (illustration), but can be distinguished by its lack of canines. The name Shishamo comes from the Ainu word susamu, which means willow leaf. Its body is silvery-white, slender and beautiful. However, during the spawning season, males develop secondary sexual characteristics, such as a darkening of the skin and a large anal fin. In addition, two broad ridges filled with colorless mucus appear on the sides of the body, and both males and females develop starbursts that run from the head to the back. Spawning takes place from late October to early December, when the fish swim upstream from the sea into rivers, and tends to occur later in southern rivers.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

サケ目キュウリウオ科の魚（イラスト）。キュウリウオ（イラスト）に似ているが，犬歯のないことで区別できる。シシャモの名はアイヌ語のスサム(ヤナギの葉の意)からきている。体色は銀白色で細長く美しい。しかし，産卵期になると二次性徴として雄は黒ずみ，しりびれが大きくなる。さらに体側に無色の粘液質でみたされた2条の幅広い隆起線が生じ，雌雄ともに頭から背にかけて追星（おいぼし）が現れる。産卵は10月下旬から12月上旬に海から河川に遡上（そじよう）して行われ，南の河川ほど遅くなる傾向がある。

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

<<: Temple and shrine land

>>: Temple and shrine main land