Anchovies
anchovies_g293
Surinam anchovy
Anchovia surinamensis
About
The Surinam anchovy is a small fish of Central and South American fresh water, and it moves into estuaries and up rivers to feed. Most are about 8 cm long, and the biggest reach 15 cm. It is a filter feeder, with a dense comb of fine gill rakers, the bristles on the gill arches that strain tiny food out of the water.
Also known as: anchovy
- Length
- 8 cm · max 15 cm
How to tell it apart
Anchovies are a nightmare of near-identical silver fish, and here the useful clue is build rather than pattern. Judge the body depth. This one is deeper and heavier through the middle than the pencil-slim anchovies it swims with, and the long paired fins behind the gills back that up. If the fish looks slender in profile, it is not this species.
Appearance
For an anchovy it is a chunky fish, with a body that is noticeably deep from back to belly. The snout comes to a point, with the tip sitting well above the middle of the eye, and the upper jaw is short and blunt at its end. A broad silver stripe runs along the flank and catches the light at the slightest turn. The fin on the back is tall, and the paired fins behind the gills are long.
Did you know?
It is not around in numbers all year. For a few months, mainly February and March, it turns up in such quantity that it carries a fishery on its own.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
