Anchoa lyolepis
Dusky Anchovy
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Engraulidae (Anchovies)
Anchoa
Anchoa lyolepis (Dusky Anchovy)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Slender and moderately compressed body; pointed, relatively long snout; deeply forked caudal fin; body depth 17-20% SL; head length 27-32% SL; snout length nearly equal to eye; maxilla long, extending posterior to supramaxilla to near opercular opening, with pointed tip; small jaw teeth; suborbital bone as long as distance from snout tip to posterior margin of eye; pseudobranch longer than eye, extending onto operculum; 19-27 gill rakers on lower limb of first arch; upper lobe of third gill arch with gill rakers; moderately falcate pectoral fin not reaching pelvic fin base; dorsal fin origin slightly nearer caudal fin base than snout tip, with 12-15 rays; pelvic fin inserts equidistant between anal fin origin and pectoral fin base; anal fin origin below last dorsal fin ray, with 21-24 rays; anus nearer anal fin origin than pelvic fin tip; deciduous scales in 40-44 transverse rows; 41-43 vertebrae
Translucent with silvery stripe on flank, stripe depth about equal to eye diameter
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Cape Hatteras to southern Brazil, including Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters, from shoreline to 23 m depth
Absent in low-salinity bays and estuaries
Biology
Maximum known size 90 mm TL
A schooling species occurring in coastal waters. Feeds on plankton.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawn in school (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-24. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other family members by combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries.
References
Gunter 1945
Hildebrand 1963c
Castro-Aguirre and Marquez-Espinoza 1981
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Whitehead et al. 1988
Boschung 1992
Whitehead, P.J.P., G.J. Nelson and T. Wongratana (1988) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (Suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/2):305-579. Rome: FAO.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Whitehead, P.J.P. (1978) Engraulidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. West Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Vol 2. [pag. var.]. FAO, Rome.
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
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