Description

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Dorsal spines (total): 6 - 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 14; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 19 - 25; Vertebrae: 44 - 52. Blue gray to green above, silvery below; a striking silver band bordered above with blue extends the full length of the body (Ref. 6885). Branchiostegal rays: 5-6 (Ref. 36497).

Common Names

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Topsmelt , English , Canada

Topsmelt , English , USA

Topsmelt silverside , English , Global

Athérine grognon , French , France

拟银汉鱼 , Mandarin Chinese , China

擬銀漢魚 , Mandarin Chinese , China

Smugobok , Polish , Poland

Pejerrey mocho , Spanish , Mexico

Pejerrey pescadillo , Spanish , Mexico

Pejerrey pescadillo , Spanish , Spain

Taxonomic Hierarchy

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Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Atheriniformes

Family: Atherinopsidae

Genus: Atherinops

Species: Atherinops affinis (Ayres, 1860)

Climate Zone

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Subtropical

Location

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Eastern Pacific: Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico and the Gulf of California.

Biology

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Common in bays, muddy and rocky areas and kelp beds, also in estuaries (Ref. 36497). Form schools. Adults feed on zooplankton (Ref. 9273), while juveniles feed on algae and kelp fly larvae (Ref. 4930). Demersal spawner in nearshore habitats (Ref. 56049). Oviparous, with planktonic, primarily neustonic larvae (Ref. 36497). Eggs are attached to spawning substrate and to one another by adhesive filaments (Ref. 36497).

Habitat

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brackish