''Anchoa mitchilli'' is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

in the family

Engraulidae An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

, the anchovies. Its common names include bay anchovy and common anchovy.NatureServe. 2013
''Anchoa mitchilli''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013. Downloaded on 13 June 2016. It is native to the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. It is one of the most common fish species along the coastlines of the western Atlantic.Newberger, T. A. and E. D. Houde. 1995
Population biology of bay anchovy ''Anchoa mitchilli'' in the mid Chesapeake Bay.
''Marine Ecology Progress Series'' 116 25-37.

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of

Samuel Latham Mitchill Samuel Latham Mitchill (August 20, 1764September 7, 1831) was an American physician, naturalist, and politician who lived in Plandome, New York. Early life Samuel Mitchill was born in Hempstead in the Province of New York, the son of Robert M ...

(1764–1831), naturalist, physician and U.S. Senator, who studied the fishes of New York.

Description

The bay anchovy is somewhat variable in appearance.Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Eds
''Anchoa mitchilli''.
FishBase. 2016. It is a small, slender, schooling fish with a greenish body and a silvery stripe. It is characterized by its very long jaw, silvery belly, lateral stripe, and single dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is located directly above the anal fin origin.DeLancey, L
''Anchoa mitchilli''.
Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 2006. The adult male is generally about 6 centimeters long, with a maximum length of 10 to 11 centimeters. It has 14 to 16 rays in its dorsal fin, 24 to 30 in its anal fin, and 11 to 12 in the pectoral.Masterson, J

Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce. 2008. It may live more than three years. The bay anchovy is similar to other species in the genus ''

Anchoa ''Anchoa'' is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Engraulidae. It currently consists of 35 species. Species There are currently 35 recognized species in this genus: * '' Anchoa analis'' ( R. R. Miller, 1945) (Longfin Pacific anchovy) * ' ...

'' which occur in the same regions. The broad-striped anchovy is similar in appearance but grows to a larger size, up to 15 centimeters. The Cuban anchovy has its anal fin set farther back on the body.

Range and habitat

This species is distributed in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico along the eastern coasts of North America from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...

. It does not occur in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. It is well known in the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

, where it is the most abundant fish.''Anchoa mitchilli''.
Field Guide. Chesapeake Bay Program. It occurs in a wide range of water temperatures and

salinities Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

, including some hypersaline environments. It does not tolerate low-oxygen waters and easily asphyxiates when deprived of oxygen. This fish spends most of its time cruising the water column. It can also be found over bare substrates at the ocean floor and in

tide pool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

s and surf zones. It can live in muddy, brackish waters. It rarely enters waters deeper than 25 meters.

Biology and ecology

This fish feeds on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

, including

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

mysids Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in this ...

, and

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e. It is in turn an important prey item for a variety of larger fish, including

weakfish The weakfish, ''Cynoscion regalis'', is a marine fish of the drum family Sciaenidae. A medium-large, slender, marine fish, it is found along the east coast of North America. The head and back of this fish are dark brown in color with a greenish t ...

(''Cynoscion regalis''),

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

(''Morone saxatilis''),

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy French ...

(''Esox niger''), and

bluefish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

(''Pomatomus saltatrix''). Birds such as

royal tern The royal tern (''Thalasseus maximus'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The species is endemic to the Americas, though strays have been identified in Europe.Buckley, P. A. and F. G. Buckley (2020). Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus), version 1.0. ...

s (''Thalasseus maximus'') and

Sandwich tern The Sandwich tern (''Thalasseus sandvicensis'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (''T. bengalensis''), Chinese crested tern (''T. bernsteini''), Cabot's tern (''T. acuflavidus''), and elegan ...

s (''T. sandvicensis'') feed on it. This species is an important link in the

food web A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Another name for food web is consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one ...

in many ecosystems. It is a major pathway by which zooplankton biomass is converted to the biomass of larger fish. The bay anchovy is sexually mature when it reaches about 4 centimeters in length. It spawns in the water column in shallow and deeper waters. In the southern part of its range it spawns year-round, and farther north it breeds during the warmer months. A female can spawn 50 times in one season, producing over 1000 eggs each time. Eggs hatch in 24 hours. Larvae mature in about 45 days. Their growth rates are variable and may depend on the availability of food.

Human uses

This species is made into anchovy paste and is used as a

bait fish 300px, Feeder Goldfish are common baitfish. Bait fish (or baitfish) are small-sized fish caught and used by anglers as bait to attract larger predatory fish, particularly game fish. Baitfish species are typically those that are common and bree ...

. It is harvested as a

rough fish Rough fish (or the slang trash fish or dirt fish) is a term used by some United States state agencies and anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to larger game fish species ...

and used for fish oil and fish paste.

Conservation

This fish is not of conservation concern. It has an extensive range, a large and stable population made up of many subpopulations, and no major threats.