Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Body elongate, slender, and rounded in cross section; snout long and prominent; lower branch of first gill arch with 34 to 49 gill rakers; anal fin with fewer than 22 rays, located behind dorsal fin base; body shiny blue or green (Ref. 55763). There is a silver stripe along flank in juveniles which disappears with age. The high number of gill rakers distinguishes it from all Pacific species of Anchoa.

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Clupeiformes

Family: Engraulidae

Genus: Engraulis

Species: Engraulis ringens Jenyns, 1842

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Adults occur mainly within 80 km of coast, forming huge schools, chiefly in surface waters. Are filter-feeders entirely dependent on the rich plankton of the Peruvian Current. In some studies, diatoms constituted as much as 98% of the diet. Large populations of guano birds and pelicans also depend on this fish (Ref. 9988). Utilized as fish meal and oil (Ref. 9988).

Habitat

neritic

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Threat to Humans

Harmless