Engraulidae

northern anchovy

Engraulis mordax

Large mouth and long compressed body

• Tropical
• Northern Hemisphere
• Regional distribution
• Marine fish
• Pacific Ocean
• North America
• Elongated
• Medium
• Tropical fish

The Californian anchovy or northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) is a species of anchovy found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, ranging from Mexico to British Columbia. It is a small, Clupeoid fish with a large mouth and a long, laterally compressed body, which strongly resembles the European Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) with only slight differences in girth and fin position. They have a euryhaline lifestyle defined by regular migrations between bays and open ocean for both spawning and foraging.