Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Clupeiformes
(Herrings) > Engraulidae
(Anchovies) > Engraulinae
Etymology: Pterengraulis: Greek, pteron = wing, fin + Greek, eggraylis, -eos = anchovy (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Freshwater; brackish; pelagic. Tropical; 11°N - 7°S, 64°W - 36°W (Ref. 189)
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37032); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)
soft rays: 28 - 32. Snout short, about 2/3 eye diameter; maxilla moderate, tip bluntly rounded, not quite or just reaching lower jaw articulation; lower gill rakers short, with often a single rudimentary raker in front. Pectoral fins large, reaching beyond pelvic fin base; anal fin origin in front of dorsal fin origin. Silver lateral stripe along flank, broad anteriorly, narrowing over anal fin.
Western Central and South Atlantic coasts and drainage (Orinoco delta, the Guianas, south to Ceará, Brazil).
Occurs in estuaries and freshwater bodies, reaching some distance inland (at least 17 km up the Suriname River; to above Santarem on the Amazon). The short and few gillrakers suggest predatory feeding on small fishes, etc. Locally consumed (Ref. 5217).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
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. 96402)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: minor commercial
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00479 (0.00298 - 0.00769), b=3.07 (2.93 - 3.21), based on LWR estimates for species & Subfamily-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.9 ±0.67 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (16 of 100) .