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Definition of "catadromous" [ca•tad•ro•mous]

  • Living in fresh water but migrating to marine waters to breed. Used of fish. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "catadromous" in a sentence
  • "The reverse occurs with catadromous species, such as the eel (Anguilla anguilla), which spawns at sea."
  • "Most arctic diadromous species are actually anadromous (i.e., use estuarine and/or marine environments for feeding and rearing; and freshwater environments for spawning, early life history, and, in the case of most arctic species, overwintering); only freshwater eels (Anguillidae) and some lampreys (Petromyzontidae) are catadromous (i.e., breed at sea and rear in freshwater)."
  • "I think the way Fish phrases his catadromous "position" on superdelegates is typical of both Fish and Althouse."
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