Engraulidae Gill 1861

Family Engraulidae Gill 1861 View in CoL View at ENA ( Fig. 2J View FIGURE 2 ). Anchovies; Anchoas, Anchovetas, Boquerones, Plásticas

Description: Body elongate, herring-like, slightly compressed; up to 35 cm in length; snout blunt, prominent, upper jaw projecting beyond the tip of the lower jaw in most species; rear of the mouth extending well behind the eye; lower jaw suspended below the head; jaw teeth usually absent, small or minute; pelvic fins inserted well behind the pectoral fins and before the dorsal-fin base; abdominal scutes absent; body often translucent and with a silver stripe down the side in some ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Marine, occasionally freshwater; Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans ( Nelson et al. 2016). Three genera and thirteen species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.