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Anadromous

[ə-NAD-rə-məs]

Part of speech: adjective

Origin: Greek, mid 18th century

1.

(Of a fish such as the salmon) migrating up rivers from the sea to spawn.

Examples of Anadromous in a sentence

"Oregon’s Willamette River contains many anadromous fish."

"Anadromous creatures spend part of their life in freshwater and part in the ocean."

About Anadromous

This word comes from the Greek “anadromos.” ”Ana-” means “up,” “dromos” means “running,” and “-ous” is an adjective-forming suffix that means “characterized by.”

Did you Know?

The direct opposite of “anadromous” is “catadromous.” Anadromous fish are born in freshwater that migrate to the ocean as juveniles, and they grow into adults before migrating back into freshwater to spawn; catadromous species are born in saltwater. They migrate into freshwater as juveniles, grow into adults, then migrate back into the ocean to spawn.

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