The Mediterranean sand smelt, Atherina hepsetus, is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae.
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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starts withThe body is rather long, slender and moderately flattened. The mouth is protrusible, directed upward with small teeth; the head and body are scaly.
The lower jaw has an upper expansion within the mouth (high dentary bone).
Two separate dorsal fins, all rays of first and 1-2 anterior rays of second dorsal fin are unsegmented, with the remaining rays segmented. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, while the caudal fin is forked. Body is silverish white, darker on the back, with the light blue horizontal stripe extending to the tail.
The maximum size is up to 20 cm in length.
Although rather small, as a carnivorous species, it feeds on pelagic copepods and benthic crustaceans.
In the Mediterranean, it spawns from December to May.
It is a pelagic-neritic, brackishwater / marine fish, widespread in the eastern Atlantic coasts of Spain and Morocco including Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is also found in the western Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black Seas.
Atherinas are carnivorous. They often school near riverbanks where they feed on worms, mollusks, larvae, and crustaceans.
