Atherine

Atherine, a name for any fish of the Acanthopterygian family Atherinidae, and especially for those of the type-genus (Atherina). They are small carnivorous fishes, from temperate and tropical seas; many of them readily enter fresh water, and some have been acclimatised in it. The type-genus contains some thirty species, rarely more than six inches long, frequenting the coasts, and living in large shoals - a habit retained by such of the species of the family as have taken to fresh water. All are highly esteemed for food; and from their general resemblance to the smelt they are often called by that name, though the difference may be easily detected from the presence of a small spinous first dorsal fin in the Atherines. Two species (Ahierina presbyter and A. boyeri) occur on the south coast of Britain, and the first is generally known to fishermen and sold as the "Sand Smelt." The genus Atherinichthys is abundant on the coast of Australia and South America. The species attain a much larger size than those of Atherina, and are equally esteemed as food-fish, the best known being A. laticlavia.