Salangidae

Salangidae, the icefishes or noodlefishes, are a family of small osmeriform fish, related to the smelts. They are found in Eastern Asia, ranging from the Russian Far East in the north to Vietnam in the south, with the highest species richness in China. Some species are widespread and common, but others have relatively small ranges and are threatened. Depending on species, they inhabit coastal marine, brackish or fresh water habitats, and some are anadromous, only visiting fresh water to spawn.

==Appearance and life cycle== They are slender, have translucent or transparent bodies and almost no scales (females are entirely scale-less, while males have a few). The head is strongly depressed and has numerous teeth. The adults are believed to be neotenic, retaining some larval features. For example, the skeleton is not fully ossified, consisting largely of cartilage. They are small fish, typically around long; only a few reach , and the largest species no more than .