Genus: Anchoa, Anchovies, Common Anchovy

ANCHOA

ANCHOVIES

Compressed body; snout prominent conical, projecting; rear of the mouth extends well behind the eye; lower jaw suspended below head; top jaw bone with pointed tip, long and reaching onto or beyond preopercle; no large canine teeth;membrane between gill covers not expanded at rear; less than 36 lower gill rakers; third gill arch with a few short rakers on its rear face, 6-7 upper rakers; dorsal fin origin in mid-body; anal fin origin below or behind dorsal fin base; pelvics well behind pectorals, before dorsal fin base.

A tropical to temperate genus, with 35 species, occurs on both side of the Atlantic, eastern Indian ocean, as well as our region. There are 13 species in our region, 5 endemics, 1 NW Atlantic species and 6 west Atlantic and 1 species that occurs in the eastern Pacific as well as the west Atlantic.