''Menidia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Neotropical silversides The Neotropical silversides are a family, Atherinopsidae, of fishes in the order Atheriniformes. About 112 species in 13 genera are distributed throughout the tropical and temperate waters of the New World, including both marine and freshwater ha ...

native to freshwater,

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

and marine habitats along the

Atlantic 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 an ...

and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an 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 the United ...

coasts of North America, ranging from the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence , image = Baie de la Tour.jpg , alt = , caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec , image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg , alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...

in Canada to the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

in Mexico. The species ''M. clarkhubbsi'', an all-female species, reproduces asexually.

Species

There are currently eight recognized species in this genus: *'' Menidia audens''

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

, 1882 (Mississippi silverside) * ''

Menidia beryllina The inland silverside (''Menidia beryllina'') is a neotropical silverside native to eastern North America, and introduced into California. It is a fish of estuary, estuaries and freshwater environments. Inland silversides are quite elongate even ...

'' (

Cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...

, 1867) (Inland silverside) * '' Menidia clarkhubbsi'' A. A. Echelle & Mosier, 1982 (Texas silverside) * '' Menidia colei'' C. L. Hubbs, 1936 (Golden silverside) * '' Menidia conchorum''

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword". ...

& Ginsburg, 1927 (Key silverside) * '' Menidia extensa'' C. L. Hubbs & Raney, 1946 (Waccamaw silverside) * '' Menidia menidia'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1766) (Atlantic silverside) * '' Menidia peninsulae'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1879) (Tidewater silverside)

References

* * Echelle, Anthony A. and Doyle T. Mosier
"Menidia clarkhubbsi, n. sp. (Pisces: Atherinidae), an All-Female Species."
''Copeia'', Vol. 1982, No. 3 (Aug. 10, 1982), pp. 533–540 Extant Pliocene first appearances Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte {{Atheriniformes-stub