Common Name
Dwarf Round Herring
Year Described
Gosse, 1851
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 9-13
Anal Fin: 13-16
Pectoral Fin: 13-14
Pelvic Fin: 8
Vertebrae: 40-43
Lateral Line Scales: 33-37
Gill Rakers: 20-30 lower (first arch in adults)
Body cylindrical in cross-section. Snout long (>eye diameter) . Mouth barely reaches anterior of orbit. Teeth present on triangular premaxilla. Isthmus slender (with small shouldered humps). No scutes on ventral surface. Scute anterior to pelvic fin W-shaped. Branchiostegal rays number 6-7. Dorsal fin single and at midbody. Pelvic fin under dorsal fin. Anal fin far back on body and small. Tail forked. Body fully scaled.
Color
Body translucent with a greenish back. A bright silvery lateral stripe (about 3/4 eye diameter) does not narrow anteriorly. No other markings.
Size
Maximum size to 70mm TL. Usually to 50mm SL.
Habitat
Coastal pelagic near shore over sandy bottoms and rocky reefs. Forms large schools.
Range
Florida to Venezuela, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Also Bermuda.
References
McEachran, J.D. & J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.
Munroe, T.A. & M.S. Nizinski. 2002. Clupeidaeidae (pp 804-830). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae-Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
Other Notes
Jenksinsia is closest in appearance and size to anchovies (Engraulidae) but can be distinguished by having much smaller mouths, smaller eyes, and a pelvic fin origin before the dorsal origin.
The combination of premaxillary teeth and a shouldered isthmus separates this from the other three Jenkinsia spp.