Jenkinsia parvula

Common Name

Short-striped Round Herring

Year Described

Cervigón & Velazquez, 1978

Identification

Dorsal Fin: 9-13
Anal Fin: 12-15
Pectoral Fin: 11-12
Pelvic Fin: 8
Vertebrae: 38-39
Lateral Line Scales: 33-37
Gill Rakers: 20-24 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 broadly triangular (straight sided). 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 gray with a greenish sheen. A bright silvery lateral stripe (about half eye diameter) narrows considerably anterior to dorsal fin and fades out near gill cover.

Size

Maximum size to 70mm TL.

Habitat

Coastal pelagic. Forms large schools.

Range

Known only from Venezuela.

References

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

Jenkinsia 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.

This species and J. stolifera share premaxillary teeth and a straight-sided isthmus without shoulders, but can be distinguished by the shape of their lateral band.