Anadromous, freshwater (coastal) and marine. Distribution: Northern Hemisphere in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. No axillary process on pelvics. Pelvic fin rays 8. Principal caudal rays 19; unbranched rays 2. Branchiostegal rays 6-10. Premaxillary and maxillary teeth present. Teeth on inner mouth bones and dentary. Mesocoracoid present. No orbitospehnoid. Pyloric caeca 1-11, or absent. Last vertebra directed upward. Color silvery. About 40 cm maximum length; most species below 20 cm.
Anadromous. Distribution: Japan, Korea, and China. No axillary process on pelvics. Last vertebrae not directed upward. Pyloric caeca more than 300. Dorsal fin rays 10-12. Anal fin rays 9-17. Branchiostegal rays 5 or 6. Usually 59-64 vertebrae.
Retropinnidae - (New Zealand smelts)
Fresh- and brackishwater; some partly marine. Distribution: New Zealand, Chatham Islands, southeastern Australia, and Tasmania. With adipose fin. Forked caudal fin. Caudal fin rays 16; branched. Scales cycloid. Lateral line absent. Abdomen with a small horny keel along midventral before anus. Teeth on vomerine, palatine, and basibranchial. Branchiostegal rays usually 5 or 6. No pyloric caeca. Gonad unpaired (left only).
Salangidae - (Icefishes or noodlefishes)
Mainly freshwater; some anadromous. Distribution: Southeast Asia. Body transparent or translucent; scaleless; adult males with 1 row of scales above anal fin base; head stronly depressed. Pelvic fins rays 6-8. Maxilla with numerous teeths. Branchiostegal rays 3 or 4. Skeleton poorly ossified, 48-79 vertebrae. Possibly retained larval characters (neotenic). Maximum length about 15 cm. Some species are primarily marine but may spawn in freshwater. Freshwater icefishes = ISSCAAP 13; anadromous icefishes = ISSCAAP 39.
Note: Families with unknown counts of dorsal or anal spines are also included