catadromous

[kuh-tad-ruh-muh s]

adjective

(of fish) migrating from fresh water to spawn in the sea, as eels of the genus Anguilla (distinguished from anadromous).

Origin of catadromous

First recorded in 1880–85; cata- + -dromous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for catadromous

Historical Examples of catadromous

Catadromous, kat-ad′rom-us, adj. of fishes, descending periodically for spawning to the lower parts of a river or to the sea.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)
Various
Of the catadromous fishes there is a single example in our waters--the common eel.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America

British Dictionary definitions for catadromous

catadromous

adjective

(of fishes such as the eel) migrating down rivers to the sea in order to breedCompare anadromous

Word Origin for catadromous

C19: from Greek katadromos, from kata- down + dromos, from dremein to run

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012