Species: Anchoa hepsetus, Broad-striped Anchovy, Striped Anchovy

Anchoa hepsetus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Striped Anchovy, Broad-striped Anchovy

Elongate, relatively slender; snout prominent, conical, projecting, ~3/4 eye diameter, pointed; rear of mouth extends well behind eye, lower jaw suspended under head, top jaw sharply pointed, reaches to nearly the edge of the preoperculum; membrane between the gill covers not expanded at rear; no large canine teeth; 19-25 lower gill rakers; top limb of 3rd gill arch with 6-7 rakers; the patch of gill filaments under the gill cover short, not reaching onto gill cover; anal fin with short base, 16-23 branched rays, its origin before the end of the dorsal fin base; pectorals short, not reaching pelvics; large scale in inner base of pectoral reaching > ½ length of that fin; anus nearer origin of anal fin than to tips of the pressed down pelvics.

Silver stripe on flank ~3/4 diameter of the eye, with a dark line above it.

Reaches: 8 cm.

Habitat: marine, coastal pelagic.

Depth range: 0-70 m.

Massachusetts to Brazil.