Anchoviella manamensis Cervigón, 1982
Manamo anchovy
photo by FAO

Family:  Engraulidae (Anchovies), subfamily: Engraulinae
Max. size:  2.5 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  pelagic; freshwater; brackish
Distribution:  South America: Orinoco delta, Venezuela; also Guyana and Surinam.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 15-18. Body fairly slender, somewhat compressed. Snout very short, about 1/2 eye diameter; maxilla very short, tip bluntly rounded, reaching only a little beyond hind border of eye; gill cover canal pattern not recorded. Anal fin fairly short, its origin below about middle of dorsal fin base.
Biology:  Occurs in large schools together with juvenile Anchovia surinamensis and slightly larger juvenile Lycengraulis batesii, which appear to feed on the Anchoviella. Mature by about 2 cm SL; a female of 2.5 cm had 157 large eggs in the ovary. This is evidently a progenetic species (adult at juvenile stage).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 17 July 2017 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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