Description

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Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 14. Mouth small, pre-maxillae absent or minute and toothless; maxilla very short, just reaching to front border of eye, with two supra-maxillae; articulation of lower jaw under hind border of pupil or just behind. Dorsal fin origin well behind midpoint of body; anal fin origin under first quarter of dorsal fin base. In life translucent or even transparent.

Common Names

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Sardelka nejmenší , Czech , Czechia

Rio Negro pygmy anchovy , English , Global

Amasooniakilu , Estonian , Estonia

亚马逊鳀 , Mandarin Chinese , China

亞馬遜鯷 , Mandarin Chinese , China

Taxonomic Hierarchy

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Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Clupeiformes

Family: Engraulidae

Genus: Amazonsprattus

Species: Amazonsprattus scintilla Roberts, 1984

Climate Zone

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Tropical

Location

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South America: endemic to the Amazon system (Rio Jufari between Castanheiro Grande and Santa Fé, also Rio Negro at Santa Isabel).

Biology

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A riverine species collected some distance up a low-gradient swampy tributary of the Rio Negro (the Rio Jufari), Brazil and in the main river, in both cases the water generally darkly tinted, acid (pH 4-5) and low in dissolved ions. Feeds on dipteran larvae and pupae; also cladocerans. Males mature at 1.43-1.62 cm SL; females at 1.59-1.82 cm. Ovarian eggs are creamy or pale orange. A female of 1.73 cm had 20 eggs in the single ovary in January.

Habitat

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pelagic