''Hypomesus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''Ath ...

s (

Osmeridae Smelts are a family of small fish, the Osmeridae, found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans, as well as rivers, streams and lakes in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. They are also known as freshwater smelts or typical smelts ...

), consisting of five species found in the northern hemisphere.

Species

There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * ''

Hypomesus japonicus ''Hypomesus japonicus'' is a coastal fish species of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Korean Peninsula and northern Japan to the Kuril Islands and Peter the Great Bay. Size The average length of an unsexed male is about 25 centi ...

'' ( Brevoort, 1856) * '' Hypomesus nipponensis'' McAllister, 1963 (Japanese smelt) * ''

Hypomesus olidus The pond smelt (''Hypomesus olidus'') is a freshwater species of smelt that inhabits the Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, ...

'' (

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

, 1814) (Pond smelt) * '' Hypomesus pretiosus'' ( Girard, 1854) (Surf smelt) * '' Hypomesus transpacificus'' McAllister, 1963 (Delta smelt) The pond smelt ''H. olidus'' is widespread across northeastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

, and northwestern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, while the Delta smelt ''H. transpacificus'' is an endangered species of the

Sacramento Delta ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. '' H. chishimaensis'' was at one time thought to be a separate species, but has since been identified as a population of ''H. nipponensis''.

References

* Extant Chattian first appearances Marine fish genera Taxa named by Theodore Gill Chattian genus first appearances {{Osmeriformes-stub