Big-scale sand smelt
| Big-scale sand smelt |
|
| A shoal of Atherina boyeri |
| Conservation status |
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| Scientific classification |
| Kingdom: |
Animalia |
| Phylum: |
Chordata |
| Class: |
Actinopterygii |
| Order: |
Atheriniformes |
| Family: |
Atherinidae |
| Genus: |
Atherina |
| Species: |
A. boyeri |
| Binomial name |
Atherina boyeri
Risso, 1810 |
| Synonyms |
- Atherina anterina Nardo, 1847
- Atherina boïeri Risso, 1810
- Atherina bonapartei non Boulenger, 1907
- Atherina bonapartii Boulenger, 1907
- Atherina boyeri caspia Eichwald, 1831
- Atherina caspia Eichwald, 1838
- Atherina hyalosoma Cocco, 1885
- Atherina lacustris Bonaparte, 1836
- Atherina mochon Cuvier, 1829
- Atherina mochon aegyptia Boulenger, 1907
- Atherina mochon pontica Eichwald, 1831
- Atherina mochon riqueti Roule, 1902
- Atherina pontica Eichwald, 1831
- Atherina presbyter caspia Eichwald, 1831
- Atherina presbyter pontica Eichwald, 1831
- Atherina riqueti Roule, 1902
- Atherina risso Valenciennes, 1835
- Atherina rissoi Günther, 1861
- Atherina sarda Valenciennes, 1835
- Atherina sardinella Fowler, 1903
- Hepsetia boyeri (Risso, 1810)
- Hepsetia mochon (Cuvier, 1829)
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Big-scale sand smelt, Atherina boyeri, is a species of fish in the Atherinidae family. Euryhaline amphidromous fish, up to 20 cm length.
Range
It is found in the Eastern Atlantic from Portugal and Spain to Nouadhibou (Mauritania) and Madeira[1]. Also in Mediterranean, includes the inshore lagoon, such as Trasimeno in Italy, Hyères in the southern France, Lake Qarun in Egypt[2]; the isolated population is near the coasts of England and Netherlands. In the Black Sea it is widespread along all coasts, in lagoons and estuaries, in the downstreams of rivers Danube, Dniester, Southern Bug, Inhulets, Dnieper, the permanent population is in the Kakhovka Reservoir[3].
The isolated population in the Caspian Sea is characterised as subspecies Atherina boyeri caspia (Eichwald, 1838).
Gastronomy
This small fish is appreciated in the Catalan, Occitan, Turkish and Greek cuisine in fried form. The fish are lightly powdered with wheat flour before being dropped in hot olive oil.
References
- ^ Atherina boyeri at FishBase
- ^ Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Vol. 3., (Eds.:) Whitehead P.J.P., Bauchot M.-L., Hureau J.-C., Nielsen J., Tortonese E., Paris, UNESCO, 1986.
- ^ Movchan Yu.V. (1988) True loaches, catfishes, canal catfishes, freshwater eels, congers, needlefishes, cods, sticklebacks, syngnathids, mosquitofishes, zeids, barracudas, grey mullets, old world silversides, cusk eels [in:] Fauna of Ukraine, Vol. 8, No 3, Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 399 pp. (in Russian)
Source