Either of two small marine fishes formerly classified in the family Salmonidæ, now within the smelt family Osmeridae: Mallotus villosus, very abundant on the coasts of Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Alaska; or Mallotus catervarius, found in the North Pacific. The Atlantic variety has been used as a bait for the cod.

kape-lynn(Also caplin) a small smeltlike fish, Mallotus villosus, of the N. Atlantic, used as food and as bait for catching cod etc.

very small northern fish; forage for sea birds and marine mammals and other fishes