The Argentine anchoita (''Engraulis anchoita'') or Argentine anchovy is an

anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

of the genus ''

Engraulis ''Engraulis'' is a genus of anchovies. It currently contains nine species. Species * '' Engraulis albidus'' Borsa, Collet & J. D. Durand, 2004 (White anchovy) * ''Engraulis anchoita'' C. L. Hubbs & Marini, 1935 (Argentine anchoita) * ''Engra ...

'', found in and around waters of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and southern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Description

It grows to SL or TL. Spawning takes place throughout the year but is most intense and close to shore in October/November, and more offshore and less intensely in May/June.

Ecology

''Engraulis anchoita'' is a key species in the pelagic ecosystem of the Argentine waters. They are zooplanktivores, and prey especially upon

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have p ...

s, but also their own eggs. ''Engraulis anchoita'' themselves are prey to other species, and constitute a main diet component of important commercial species such as hake, squid and mackerel.

Fishery

Annual catches of ''Engraulis anchoita'' in 2000–2009 varied between 12 and 44 thousand tonnes, mainly taken by Argentina.

References

Argentine anchoita Fauna of Temperate South America Fish of Argentina Fish of the Western Atlantic Argentine anchoita Anchovies {{Clupeiformes-stub