Big-scale sand smelt (Atherina boyeri)

Scientific name: Atherina boyeri Risso, 1810

Big-scale sand smelt (Atherina boyeri)

The Big-scale sand smelt (Atherina boyeri) is a freshwater fish of the family Atherinidae.

Biology

A very euryhaline species, which is frequently found in brackish waters and more sporadically in freshwater, preferring still or slow flowing waters. Adults occur in great schools. Carnivorous, feeds on small crustaceans, worms, mollusks and fish larvae.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Atherina boyeri
Family
Atherinidae (Silversides)
Order
Atheriniformes (Silversides)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
20.0
Depth range
1 m (3 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; amphidromous; depth range 1 - ? m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Portugal and Spain to Nouadhibou in Mauritania and Madeira, and throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Isolated populations on coasts of England and the Netherlands. Two subspecies recognized in Russian waters: Atherina boyeri pontica (Eichwald, 1838) from the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and Atherina boyeri caspia (Eichwald, 1838) from the Caspian Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.8; tm=1; tmax=4;)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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