Atherinops affinis
Topsmelt
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Atheriniformes (Silversides)
Atherinopsidae (New World Silversides)
Atherinops
Atherinops affinis (Topsmelt)
Description
This species account was compiled from
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Blue gray to green above, silvery below; a striking silver band bordered above with blue extends the full length of the body (Ref. 6885). Branchiostegal rays: 5-6 (Ref. 36497).
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico and the Gulf of California.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. pelagic-neritic. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
Common in bays, muddy and rocky areas and kelp beds, also in estuaries (Ref. 36497). Form schools. Adults feed on zooplankton (Ref. 9273), while juveniles feed on algae and kelp fly larvae (Ref. 4930). Demersal spawner in nearshore habitats (Ref. 56049). Oviparous, with planktonic, primarily neustonic larvae (Ref. 36497). Eggs are attached to spawning substrate and to one another by adhesive filaments (Ref. 36497).
Max length: 37.0 cm TL; common length: 28.0 cm TL; max age: 9 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Oviparous (Ref. 36497).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2008-05-01. Resilience: Medium (tm=2; tmax=7; Fec = 1,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Fitch, J.E. and R.J. Lavenberg (1975) Tidepool and nearshore fishes of California. California Natural History Guides:38. University of California Press, Berkelley and Los Angeles, California. 156 p.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.
Lavenberg, R.J. and M. Chernoff (1995) Atherinidae. Pejerreyes. p. 889-901. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome.
Watson, W. (1996) Atherinidae: silversides. p. 608-619. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 1505 p.
Love, M.S., C.W. Mecklenburg, T.A. Mecklenburg and L.K. Thorsteinson (2005) Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Seattle, Washington, 98104.
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