Elops affinis
Machete
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Elopiformes (Tarpons and Tenpounders)
Elopidae (Tenpounders)
Elops
Elops affinis (Machete)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Body slender and elongate; mouth large and terminal; bony plate present between branches of lower jaw; branchiostegal rays very numerous (25 to 35); fins lacking spines; lower branch of first gill arch with 16 to 20 gill rakers; scales very small, 100 to 120 in the lateral line; back dark blue-green to light brown; flanks silvery with slight yellow highlights; fins slightly yellowish (ref. 55763). Caudal rays: principal (10+8-9), procurrent (upper:8, lower: 8)
Branchiostegal rays: 23-35 Striking features: none.
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: Mandalay Beach, southern California, USA to Peru, including the Gulf of California.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. pelagic-neritic. depth range 0-10 m. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
Occur in schools in shallow inshore areas. Penetrate lagoons and estuaries (Ref. 9297). Feed on fish and penaeids (Ref. 50313). Spawning probably occur in the open sea and the transparent larvae migrate towards coastal areas (Ref. 9297). Struggle vigorously when caught on hooks and lines (Ref. 9297). Low commercial value due its numerous spines (Ref. 9297).
Max length: 91.0 cm TL; common length: 50.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Data Deficient (DD), assessed 2018-08-08.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
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.
Whitehead, P.J.P. and R. Rodriguez-Sanchez (1995) Elopidae. Malachos. p. 1065-1066. 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.
Getabu, A. (1987) Aspects of the Lake Victoria fisheries with emphasis on Oreochromis niloticus and Alestes sadleri from the Nyanza Gulf. FAO Fish. Rep. 389:416-431.
Charter, S.R. and H.G. Moser (1996) Elopidae: tenpounders. p. 75-77. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations 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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