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Atherina breviceps Valenciennes, 1835

Cape silverside
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Atherina breviceps   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Atherina breviceps (Cape silverside)
Atherina breviceps
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Namibia country information

Common names: Cape silverside, Kaapse spierinkie
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: bait: yes;
Comments: Mainly off southern Namibia, ranging from Orange River northwards to Luderitz (Ref. 27121). Specimens held at the MFMR (Ref. 27121). Seldom caught for food (Ref. 12484). Mainly caught for bait (Ref. 27121). Also Ref. 4125, 7248.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/wa.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.benefit.org.na/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Bianchi, G., K.E. Carpenter, J.-P. Roux, F.J. Molloy, D. Boyer and H.J. Boyer, 1999
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Athérine du Cap, 短头真银汉鱼, Kaapse spierinkie, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Atheriniformes (Silversides) > Atherinidae (Silversides) > Atherininae
Etymology: Atherina: Greek, atherina, the Greek name for the eperlane; 1770 (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Valenciennes.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic.   Subtropical; 27°S - 35°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Southeast Atlantic: restricted from Lüderitz, Namibia to northern Natal, South Africa.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 4.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7248)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 6 - 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 115; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 15 - 18. Body silvery and translucent with a midlateral band; dusky upper surface (Ref. 4125).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Forms schools along the coast and in estuaries, especially during spring (Ref. 3302). Also found in coastal lakes (Ref. 7248). Small individuals filter out small organisms such as phytoplankton and rotifers. Above 3.5 cm TL, it feeds mostly on crustaceans especially amphipods taken from the water column as well as off the bottom. Preyed upon by fishes and birds (Ref. 7248).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Dyer, Brian S. | Collaborators

Skelton, P.H., 1993. A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa. Southern Book Publishers. 388 p. (Ref. 7248)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; bait: usually
FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

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Internet sources

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 14.3 - 23.9, mean 19.5 (based on 14 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5312   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00776 (0.00426 - 0.01415), b=3.14 (2.97 - 3.31), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.4   ±0.46 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.