Commerson's anchovy (Stolephorus commersonnii)

Scientific name: Stolephorus commersonnii Lacep?de, 1803

Commerson's anchovy (Stolephorus commersonnii)

The Commerson's anchovy (Stolephorus commersonnii) is a brackish-water fish of the family Engraulidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 18 - 19. Belly slightly rounded with 0-5 small needle-like pre-pelvic scutes. Maxilla tip pointed, reaching to or a little beyond hind border of pre-operculum, the latter convex, rounded. Small teeth on hyoid bones. Isthmus muscle tapering evenly forward. Body light transparent fleshy brown with a pair of dark patches behind occiput, followed by a pair of lines to dorsal fin origin. Bears a silver stripe on flanks. Closely resembles S. apiensis of Fiji and Samoa; S. brachycephalus of Papua New Guinea.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Stolephorus commersonnii
Family
Engraulidae (Anchovies)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
10.0
Common length
8.5
Depth range
0–50 m (0–164 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous; depth range 0 - 50 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, from Gulf of Aden to Zanzibar, northern Madagascar and Mauritius (but not from Red Sea or Persian Gulf) eastward to Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Apparently replaced by Stolephorus apiensis in Fiji and Samoa.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.95-0.96)

Sources

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

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