Big-scale sand smelt
| Atherina Temporal range: Miocene - Recent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Atherina boyeri | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Atheriniformes |
| Family: | Atherinidae |
| Subfamily: | Atherininae |
| Genus: | Atherina Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Type species | |
| Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Atherina is a genus of fish of silverside family Atherinidae, found in the temperate and tropic zones. Up to 15 cm long, they are widespread in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Sea of Azov in lagoons and estuaries. It comes to the low stream of the Dnieper, Southern Bug, Dniester and Danube Rivers.
Fossil record
Fossils of Atherina have been found in the Miocene of Kazakhstan (age range: from 13.65 to 11.608 million years ago.). [1]
Species
There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus:
- Atherina boyeri A. Risso, 1810 (Big-scale sand smelt)
- Atherina breviceps Valenciennes, 1835 (Cape silverside)
- Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mediterranean sand smelt)
- Atherina lopeziana Rossignol & Blache, 1961
- Atherina presbyter G. Cuvier, 1829 (Sand smelt)
Incertae sedis
- Atherina harringtonensis Goode, 1877 (Reef silverside) [2]
- Atherina ovalaua Herre, 1935 (Fijian silverside) [2]
- Atherina valenciennei Bleeker, 1854 (Sumatran silverside) [2]
- Atherina woodwardi D. S. Jordan & Starks, 1901 [2]
Commercial importance
Species of Atherina are objects in the traditional Catalan, Occitan, south-Ukrainian, Turkish, and Greek cuisine in fried form. The fish are lightly powdered with wheat flour before being dropped in hot olive oil. In Ukraine and Greece, it is commercially important species.[3]
References
- ↑ Paleobiology Database
- 1 2 3 4 Sasaki, D. & Kimura, S. (2014): Taxonomic review of the genus Hypoatherina Schultz 1948 (Atheriniformes: Atherinidae). Ichthyological Research, 61 (3): 207-241.
- ↑ Kottelat, M. & Freyhof, J. (2007): Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol, Switzerland. 646 p.