Distribution:
Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Habitat:
Marine.
Remarks:
Anchovies are found worldwide in all seas except a few species live permanently in freshwater. They are small, about 15-35 cm in length, and feed mainly on plankton which are filtered by their gill rakers. A few large species are piscivorous. They are schooling fishes, inhabiting shallow coastal waters and estuaries in tropical and temperate areas. Typically, anchovies are used for food and fish meal, and even used as bait. They are translucent and display a silvery stripe down the flank.
Anchovies has a maximum reported length of 50 cm.
This family comprises of 16 genera and approximately 139 species.
References: Nelson 2006; Robertson and Allen 2008