Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-neritic; depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 189). Tropical; 23°N - 7°N, 90°W - 61°W (Ref. 189)
Western Central Atlantic: Greater and Lesser Antilles to Trinidad; Venezuela westward to Panama and Yucatan. Not separated from Anchoa hepsetus until recently; references to Caribbean 'hepsetus' may refer to Anchoa colonensis.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); common length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 17 - 21. Body somewhat compressed. Snout pointed, about 3/4 eye diameter; maxilla long, tip pointed, reaching to hind margin of pre-operculum; gill cover canals of panamensis-type. Anal fin short. Anus nearer to anal fin origin than to pectoral fin tips. A narrow silver stripe along flank, about width of pupil.
Forms dense schools, often in shallow waters close to shore. Probably similar to A. hepsetus in other aspects of its biology.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Spawn in school (Ref. 205).
Whitehead, P.J.P., G.J. Nelson and T. Wongratana, 1988. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (Suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/2):305-579. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 189)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of potential interest
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 27.1 - 28.3, mean 27.8 °C (based on 70 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00513 (0.00234 - 0.01125), b=3.14 (2.97 - 3.31), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).