Key Identification Features
- It can be identified by large canine-like teeth on the vomer bone, and 19 to 31 rays in its anal fin.
- Occasionally, a river that usually has large runs will see no returning eulachon in a given year, and the reasons for this variability are not known.
- A characteristic feature of eulachon runs is that the early portion of the run is almost entirely made up of males, with females arriving about midway through the run, until the run concludes.
- A distinct freshwater form, called Binnenstint ('Inland smelt') in Germany, is commonly found in larger lakes across Northern Europe.
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