Anchovy

Engraulis mordax

The anchovy which is scientifically named Engraulis mordax lives throughout the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a coastal organism that lives in habitats such as estuaries. The classification of an anchovy is domain Eukarya, its kingdom is Animalia, its phylum is Chordata, its class is Actinopterygii, and its order is Clupeiformes. Its family is Engraulidae, its genus is Engraulis, and its species is Engraulis mordax. An anchovy has bilateral symmetry, it is heterotrophic, and it is also ectothermic. The anchovy is a shiny silver and is very small. It also has an average length of about 7 centimeters. The anchovy has two structural adaptations which are that it has a large mouth that opens very wide so it can swallow lots of water for oxygen. It also has very big eyes so it can see predators and prey coming. Lastly, the anchovy has a behavioral adaptation which is that it swims in schools so it is easier to defend predators. An interesting fact about the anchovy is that it doesn’t live long, it only lives about an average of 5 years. Predators of an anchovy include albacore, chub mackerel, and humans. The prey of an anchovy includes zooplankton, phytoplankton, krill, and copepods. I have highly enjoyed researching this amazing organism.  

I found this image at http://learning.ashleyhall.org/course/315577359/updates