Common Name
Cuban Anchovy
Year Described
Poey, 1868
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 14-16
Anal Fin: 20-25
Pectoral Fin: 13-14
Gill Rakers: 17-23 upper, 23-33 lower
Vertebrae: 42-45
Lateral Line Scales: 42-45
Body elongate and laterally compressed. Body depth 15-18% TL. Snout conical and 3/4 eye diameter in length. Mouth very large and inferior. Maxilla tip extends well over preoperculum (to edge). Teeth small. Suborbital bone slightly larger than eye diameter. Pseudobranch shorter than eye diameter (does not reach onto operculum). Dorsal fin origin a little past midpoint of body with a concave rear margin. Pectoral fin long, low and falls well short of pelvic fin (=eye diameter). Pelvic fin a bit closer to anal fin base than pectoral fin base. Pelvic fin with seven rays. Anal fin origin under middle of dorsal fin and has a long base. Caudal fin forked. Anus closer to pelvic fin base than anal fin origin. Scales cycloid and deciduous. Lateral line absent.
Color
Body translucent with a wide (about eye diameter) silvery stripe that does not narrow significantly. Fins clear.
Size
Maximum size to 75mm TL.
Habitat
An inshore species found in clear marine waters. Schooling.
Range
North Carolina to northern Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, through the Antilles, Yucatan to southern Brazil.
References
Hildebrand, S.F. 1964. Engraulidae and Clupeidae (pp. 152-454). In: Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Mem. Sears Fnd. Mar. Res. 1 (Vol. 3): 1-630.
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.