Anchoa mitchilli | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Clupeiformes |
Family: | Engraulidae |
Genus: | Anchoa |
Species: | A. mitchilli |
Binomial name | |
Anchoa mitchilli (Valenciennes, 1848) | |
Synonyms | |
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Anchoa mitchilli is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae, the anchovies. Its common names include bay anchovy and common anchovy. [1] It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. [1] It is one of the most common fish species along the coastlines of the western Atlantic. [2]
The fish is named in honor of Samuel Latham Mitchill (1764–1831), naturalist, physician and U.S. Senator, who studied the fishes of New York. [3]
The bay anchovy is somewhat variable in appearance. [4] It is a small, slender, schooling fish with a greenish body and a silvery stripe. It is characterized by its very long jaw, silvery belly, lateral stripe, and single dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is located directly above the anal fin origin. [5] The adult male is generally about 6 centimeters long, with a maximum length of 10 [4] to 11 centimeters. [1] It has 14 to 16 rays in its dorsal fin, 24 to 30 in its anal fin, and 11 to 12 in the pectoral. [6] It may live more than three years. [1]
The bay anchovy is similar to other species in the genus Anchoa which occur in the same regions. The broad-striped anchovy is similar in appearance but grows to a larger size, up to 15 centimeters. The Cuban anchovy has its anal fin set farther back on the body. [6]
This species is distributed in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico along the eastern coasts of North America from Maine to Yucatán. [6] It does not occur in the West Indies. [4] It is well known in the Chesapeake Bay, where it is the most abundant fish. [7]
It occurs in a wide range of water temperatures and salinities, including some hypersaline environments. [6] It does not tolerate low-oxygen waters and easily asphyxiates when deprived of oxygen. [6]
This fish spends most of its time cruising the water column. It can also be found over bare substrates at the ocean floor and in tide pools and surf zones. [6] It can live in muddy, brackish waters. [4] It rarely enters waters deeper than 25 meters. [1]
This fish feeds on zooplankton, including copepods, mysids, and crab larvae. [6]
It is in turn an important prey item for a variety of larger fish, including weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), chain pickerel (Esox niger), and bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). [6] Birds such as royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) and Sandwich terns (T. sandvicensis) feed on it. [6]
This species is an important link in the food web in many ecosystems. It is a major pathway by which zooplankton biomass is converted to the biomass of larger fish. [1]
The bay anchovy is sexually mature when it reaches about 4 centimeters in length. It spawns in the water column in shallow and deeper waters. In the southern part of its range it spawns year-round, and farther north it breeds during the warmer months. [6] A female can spawn 50 times in one season, producing over 1000 eggs each time. Eggs hatch in 24 hours. [7] Larvae mature in about 45 days. Their growth rates are variable and may depend on the availability of food. [6]
This species is made into anchovy paste and is used as a bait fish. [1] It is harvested as a rough fish and used for fish oil and fish paste. [6]
This fish is not of conservation concern. It has an extensive range, a large and stable population made up of many subpopulations, and no major threats. [1]
The bluefish is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as tailor in Australia and New Zealand, elf and shad in South Africa. It is a popular gamefish and food fish.
Cynoscion regalis, the weakfish, squeteague, bastard trout, bastard weakfish, common weakfish, gray weakfish, chickwick, gray trout, gray sea trout, sand trout, silver weakfish or squit, is a marine ray-finned fish of the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers.
The Atlantic tripletail, also known as the black grunt, black perch, bouy fish, bouyfish, brown triple tail, brown tripletail, conchy leaf, dusky triple-tail, dusky tripletail, flasher, sleepfish, triple tail, triple-tail, tripletail, or tripple tail is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lobotidae. This fish is found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world except for the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Atlantic menhaden is a North American species of fish in the herring family, Alosidae.
The roach, or rutilus roach, also known as the common roach, is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the family Cyprinidae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. Fish called roach can be any species of the genera Rutilus, Leucos and Hesperoleucus, depending on locality. The plural of the term is also roach.
The Pacific staghorn sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Lepidocottus.
The Pacific ladyfish, also known as the Pacific tenpounder and machete, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Elops, the only genus in the monotypic family Elopidae. The Pacific ladyfish can be found throughout the southwest U.S. and other areas in the Pacific Ocean.
Great Bay is located in southern New Jersey's Atlantic Coastal Plain in Ocean and Atlantic Counties, about ten miles (16 km) north of Atlantic City and is about 5.5 miles northwest of Brigantine, and 5.5 miles southwest of Beach Haven. The Mullica River flows into the bay, and together they form the Mullica River - Great Bay estuary habitat. The bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Little Egg Inlet. Great Bay is considered one of the least-disturbed marine wetlands habitats in the northeastern United States.
The giant trevally, also known as the lowly trevally, barrier trevally, ronin jack, giant kingfish, or ulua, is a species of large marine fish classified in the jack family, Carangidae. The giant trevally is distributed throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, with a range stretching from South Africa to Hawaii, including Japan in the north and Australia in the south. Two were documented in the eastern tropical Pacific in the 2010s, but whether the species will become established there remains to be seen.
The little tunny, also known as the false albacore, little tuna, bonita, or erroneously as the blue bonito, is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It can be found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and Black seas; in the western Atlantic, it ranges from Brazil to the New England states. The little tunny is a pelagic fish that can be found regularly in both offshore and inshore waters, and it is classified as a highly migratory species. The little tunny is best identified by the "worm-like" markings on its back and the dark spots appearing between its pectoral and ventral fins.
The glassy sprat is a type of sprat fish. The fish, when alive, is translucent, so it gets the second word in its scientific name from the Latin word translucidus, meaning transparent, diaphanous. In animal classification the glassy sprat belongs to Osteichthyes, Clupeiformes, Clupeidae, Hyperlophus. The glassy sprat is native to Australia and mainly found in Australia. It is marked as NE because it has not yet been evaluated by the World Animal Protection. It is mainly used as an economical aquatic product. In ecosystems, they are at the bottom end of the food chain, feeding mainly on plankton, which are less aggressive and very vulnerable to other fish. Glassy sprat are tiny in size and translucent with a silvery streak that extends from its tail to just behind its head. As early as a hundred years ago, Australians harvested the glassy sprat in large quantities and it featured on the table as food for a long time. Due to its poor appearance, it is not a very good ornamental fish.
The northern whiting, also known as the silver whiting and sand smelt, is a marine fish, the most widespread and abundant member of the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. The northern whiting was the first species of sillaginid scientifically described and is therefore the type species of both the family Sillaginidae and the genus Sillago. The species is distributed in the Indo-Pacific region from South Africa in the west to Japan and Indonesia in the east. The northern whiting inhabits coastal areas to 60 m, but is most often found in shallow water around bays and estuaries, often entering freshwater. It is a carnivore, taking a variety of polychaetes and crustaceans. The species is of major economic importance throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is most frequently taken by seine nets and cast nets and marketed fresh.
Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish that feed on plankton and other tiny organisms. They are preyed on by larger predators, including larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding. They include particularly fishes of the order Clupeiformes, but also other small fish, including halfbeaks, silversides, smelt such as capelin and goldband fusiliers.
The Japanese sea bass is a species of catadromous marine ray-finned fish from the Asian sea bass family Lateolabracidae which is found in the Western Pacific.
Anchoa hepsetus, commonly known as the broad-striped anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It grows to be about 15 cm (6 in) long. The broad-striped anchovy is found in the west Atlantic along the North American coast from Nova Scotia and the Maine coast scarcely, and abundantly from the Chesapeake bay to the West Indies and Uruguay. It is found most commonly in shoals along coastal waters, as deep as 73 m although mostly found in water shallower than this. The broad-striped anchovy spawns in spring. Their eggs are pelagic and hatch within 48 hours at regular spring temperatures. At young ages, it eats copepods, but as the fish ages, its diet begins to consist of other small crustaceans, molluscs, and worm larvae. It is an important food staple for large commercial fishes, such as the American seatrout. It is commonly eaten by birds. It is elongate with large eyes and protuberant snout, large mouth and underslung jaw. Its anal fin is quite short, and its front fin lies beneath the end of the dorsal fin. It is grey-green with black dots, but its notable feature is its silvery stripe from head to tail.
The European pilchard is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus Sardina. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea at depths of 10–100 m (33–328 ft). It reaches up to 27.5 cm (10.8 in) in length and mostly feeds on planktonic crustaceans. This schooling species is a batch spawner where each female lays 50,000–60,000 eggs.
Merluccius merluccius, the European hake, is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius. Other vernacular names include Cornish salmon and herring hake. It is a predatory species which was often netted alongside one of its favoured prey, the Atlantic herring, thus the latter common name. It is found in the eastern Atlantic from the Norway and Iceland south to Mauritania and into the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important species in European fisheries and is heavily exploited with some populations thought to be being fished unsustainably.
Ichthyoplankton are the eggs and larvae of fish. They are mostly found in the sunlit zone of the water column, less than 200 metres deep, which is sometimes called the epipelagic or photic zone. Ichthyoplankton are planktonic, meaning they cannot swim effectively under their own power, but must drift with the ocean currents. Fish eggs cannot swim at all, and are unambiguously planktonic. Early stage larvae swim poorly, but later stage larvae swim better and cease to be planktonic as they grow into juveniles. Fish larvae are part of the zooplankton that eat smaller plankton, while fish eggs carry their own food supply. Both eggs and larvae are themselves eaten by larger animals.
Trachidermus fasciatus is a species of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins, and the only member of the monotypic genus Trachidermus. Its common name is roughskin sculpin. It has also been called four-gilled perch. It is native to the coastlines of China, Japan, and Korea, where it occurs at the mouths of rivers.
Siganus virgatus, the barhead spinefoot, doublebar rabbitfish or doublebar spinefoot is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a rabbitfish belonging to the family Siganidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.