katadromous

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katadromous Describing the migration of certain fish that spend most of their lives in fresh waters before swimming to deep oceanic waters to breed. For example, the common freshwater eel (Anguilla anguilla), found in European lakes and rivers, travels to the Sargasso Sea in the western Atlantic to breed, from where the young (elvers) may take up to three years to reach their home waters. Compare anadromous.

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