Thrissina polynemoides, African baelama anchovy

Thrissina polynemoides (Günther, 1868)

African baelama anchovy
Upload your photos and videos
 Google image
Image of Thrissina polynemoides (African baelama anchovy)
No image available for this species;
drawing shows typical species in Engraulidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Clupeiformes (Herrings) > Engraulidae (Anchovies) > Coiliinae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; pelagic-neritic. Tropical

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Indian Ocean: Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania (Zanzibar),

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 129422)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

This species is distinguished by the following characters: maxilla short, 21.6-22.3% of SL, its posterior tip not reaching to posterior margin of opercle; first supramaxilla elongated, longer than half length of the second; lower jaw rather long, 19.7-20.3% of SL; abdomen is covered with 5-7 + 9-10 = 14-17 keeled scutes; absence of scutes anterior to pectoral fin; 1UGR (upper gill rakers of first gill arch) 18-20, 1LGR (lower gill rakers of first gill arch) 23-26, 1TGR (total gill rakers of first gill arch) 41-46; 2UGR 14-16, 2LGR 22-25, 2TGR 37-40; 3UGR 12-13, 3LGR 14-16, 3TGR 26-29; 4UGR 11-12, 4LGR 12-13, 4TGR 23-25; absence of distinct black blotches on dorsal fin; caudal peduncle rather narrow, 9.9-10.6% (mean 10.2%) of SL and long, 9.1-10.1% of SL; pre-dorsal-fin long, 50.7-51.8% of SL; pre-anal-fin length short, 65.6-66.9% of SL; dorsal-fin base short, 10.4-10.9% of SL; distance between pelvic-fin insertion and anal-fin origin short, 20.5-21.7% of SL; pectoral fin short, 17.1-18.2% of SL; pelvic fin short, 12.4-13.4% of SL; snout short, 4.7-4.9% of SL; body rather elongated, 23.5-25.3% (mean 24.5%) of SL (Ref. 129422).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Hata, H., I.F. Mandagi and K.W.A. Masengi, 2023. Resurrection of nominal species previously regarded as junior synonyms of Thrissina baelama (Fabricius, 1775) and their re-descriptions (Teleostei: Clupeiformes: Engraulidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71:279-302. (Ref. 129422)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5001 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.00380 (0.00173 - 0.00834), b=3.10 (2.92 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		3.4   ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Low vulnerability (10 of 100). 🛈