Common names: longfin-herring (English), sardinela (Espanol), arenquilla (Espanol)
 
Neoopisthopterus tropicus (Hildebrand, 1946)


Tropical longfin-herring


Small, elongate, slender, its depth about 3.8-4.0 in SL, compressed;  mouth opens at front, oblique; top jaw short, not reaching beyond rear edge of eye; jaw teeth few, very small; top jaw with 2 toothed bones, no gap between them; gill rakers short, thick, few; dorsal fin 13-15, its origin well behind mid-body, behind anal fin origin; no pelvics; anal fin base long (43-48 rays); a sharp keel of ~ 26 scutes along belly.


Greenish brown on back, silvery white below with a silver mid-lateral band; tip of dorsal and top of tail blackish .


Size: grows to 11 cm.

Habitat: forms large schools in bays, estuaries, and in brackish river mouths.

Depth: 0-10 m?



The SE Gulf of California to northern Peru.