Anchoa walkeri Baldwin & Chang, 1970
Persistent anchovy
Anchoa walkeri
photo by Robertson, R.

Family:  Engraulidae (Anchovies), subfamily: Engraulinae
Max. size:  14.5 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  pelagic-neritic; freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 50 m
Distribution:  Eastern Central Pacific: Gulf of California at San Felipe, Baja California and along Sonora and Sinaloa coasts, Mexico, south to Panama, possibly reaching further south.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 23-32. Snout moderately pointed, about 3/4 eye diameter; maxilla long, tip sharply pointed, reaching to or just beyond gill opening, but shorter and more blunt at 4 to 5 cm standard length; gill cover canals of walkeri-type. Pectoral fins large, tip reaching to beyond pelvic fin base; anal fin origin below dorsal fin origin or a little behind. Silver stripe along flank, as eye in some places.
Biology:  Presumably schooling and most often found in warm, murky waters near shore and in bays near river mouths (specimens taken some km up the Rio Santiago, Nayarit, Mexico). Capable of tolerating lower salinities than that of the sea (Ref. 9298). The ovarian eggs are elliptical. Caught as a by-catch of encircling, lamparo, and trawl nets (Ref. 9298).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 18 October 2019 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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