Anchoa mitchilli
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Engraulidae (Anchovies)
Anchoa
Anchoa mitchilli (Bay Anchovy)
Description
Type Locality
New York, also Lake Ponchertrain near New Orleans (Valenciennes 1848).
Etymology
Anchoa: Spanish, from the word anchova, a herring like fish, anchovy; mitchilli: named in honor of Samuel L. Mitchill (1764-1831), an American naturalist (Ross 2001)
Synonymy
Engraulis mitchilli (Valenciennes 1848:51; Whitehead 1967:129).
Characters
102 mm (4.01 in) SL (Burgess 1980).
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23-31 anal soft fin rays; 11-12 pectoral soft fin rays (Hubbs et al. 1991). Gill rakers 21-25 (Whitehead et al. 1988).
Variable, less slender in southern populations (Whitehead et al., 1988), compressed (Ross 2001).
Subterminal, has a large mouth that is overhung by a conical snout (Ross 2001).
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Distribution
Coastal inhabiting species from Maine along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to Yucatan (Hubbs et al 1991). Includes the Florida Keys (Whitehead et al. 1988).
Abundant in most bays and estuaries (Hubbs et al. 1991).
Abundance/Conservation Status
No information at this time.
Habitat Associations
Marine, pelagic, coastal, but more common in shallow tidal areas with muddy bottoms and brackish waters, tolerating a wide range of salinities (Whitehead et al. 1988).
No information at this time.
Biology
Spring-summer spawner along much of the Atlantic coast, but reproduction occurs year around in southern Florida (Houde in Jones et al. 1978).
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Feeds mostly on shrimp and copepods, also small fishes, gastropods and isopods (Hildebrand, 1963).
No information at this time.
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Daly (1970) clearly separated Florida A. mitchilli from A. hepsetus (broad-striped anchovy) on pectoral soft fin ray counts. A. mitchilli having 10-11 (usually 9-12) and A. hepsetus having 13-16 (usually 14 or 15).
Host Records
No information at this time.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Very important forage species for predatory fishes and water birds (Burgess 1980).
References
Daly, R. J. 1970. Systematics of southern Florida anchovies (Pisces: Engraulidae). Bull. Mar. Sci. 20(1):70-104.
Hildebrand, S. F. 1963. Family Clupeidae, p. 257-454. In: Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Mem. Sears Found. Res. 1(3):630pp.
Hubbs, C., R. J. Edwards, and G. P. Garrett. 1991. An annotated checklist of the freshwater fishes of Texas, with keys to the identification of species. Texas Journal of Science, Supplement 43(4):1-56
Ross, S. T. 2001. The Inland Fishes of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson. 624 pp.
Valenciennes, A. 1847. Histoire naturelles des poissons. P. Bertrand, Paris, Vol 21, 536 pp.
Whitehead, P. J. P. 1967. The Clupeoid fishes described by Lacepede, Cuvier, and Valenciennes. Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist. (Zool.). suppl. 2:1-180.
Whitehead, P. J. P. 1985. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeioidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. Part 1-Chirocentridae, Clupeidae and Pristigasteridae. FAO Fish Synop. FAO species catalogue. Vol 7. United Nations Development Programme. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome 579 pp.
Houde in Jones et al. 1978. Development of Fishes of the Mid-Atlantic Bight, Vol. 1.
Burgess, G. H. 1980. Anchoa mitchilli (Valenciennes) Bay Anchovy. pp. 73 In D. S. Lee, et al. Atlas of North American Fishes. N. C. State Mus. Nat. Hist., Raleigh, i-r+854 pp.
Comments On Anchoa mitchilli