Clupeonella engrauliformis (Borodin, 1904)
Anchovy sprat
Clupeonella engrauliformis
photo by FAO

Family:  Ehiravidae (River sprats)
Max. size:  16.5 cm SL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 26.0 g
Environment:  pelagic; brackish; depth range 0 - 78 m
Distribution:  Former USSR and Asia: central and southern parts of the Caspian Sea.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-21; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 12-23. Body slender; head short and wide; belly rounded, with 23 to 31 scutes. Pectoral fin tips rounded. Last 2 anal fin rays enlarged; Pterotic bulla absent. No notch at the center of the upper jaw. Females slightly larger than males.
Biology:  Occurs mainly in the open sea, occasionally approaching the shore and sometimes forming large schools. Rises to the surface in the spring months, but descending to as much as 78 m in late summer (apparently rising again in October-November, but descending once more in winter). Breeds intermittently from end of April to November, mainly in July, in the open sea.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered (EN); Date assessed: 31 May 2018 (A2bde) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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