Bright Anchovy, Anchoa lucida

Bright Anchovy, Anchoa lucida. Fish caught with a cast net off the pier at Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, April 2016. Length: 7.6 cm (3.0 inches).

The Bright Anchovy, Anchoa lucida, is a member of the Anchovy or Engraulidae Family, and is known in Mexico as anchoa ojitos. Globally, there are thirty-five species in the genus Anchoa, of which twenty-three are found in Mexican waters, nine in the Atlantic and fourteen in the Pacific Ocean.

The Bright Anchovy has a moderately elongated and somewhat compressed body with a depth that is of 21% to 23% of standard length. They have a short blunt snout whose length is approximately three-fourths the diameter of the eyes. They are translucent silver with a narrow silver stripe mid-body that is approximately half the diameter of the eyes. Their chin and tail tips are darkened. Their anal fin base is long with 3 spines and 22 to 28 rays, and originates under the center of the dorsal fin. Their dorsal fin originates mid-body; their pectoral fins reach the pelvic fin origin; and their pelvic fins reach the dorsal fin origin. They have 18 to 23 lower gill rakers.

The Bright Anchovy is a pelagic species found in coastal waters at depths up to 9 m (30 feet); they frequent bays, lagoons, and estuaries in large schools. They reach a maximum of 16.0 cm (6.3 inches) in length. They are filter feeders consuming phytoplankton and zooplankton. They reproduce via oviparity with external fertilization with the eggs and larvae being pelagic. The Bright Anchovy is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Bright Anchovy is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja and from the extreme northern portions of the Sea of Cortez.

The Bright Anchovy can be confused with the Deepbody Anchovy, Anchoa compressa (body depth 24-26%; wide stripe mid-body with width approximately the diameter of the eyes).

From a conservation perspective the Bright Anchovy is currently considered to be of Least Concern with widely distributed stable populations. They are used on a limited basis as bait, however, they are small in stature and of limited interest to most.