| | See tree map
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| | Synonyms
| | | | Opisthonema libertate Berry & Barrett, 1964:120, fig. lc (full synonymy; references to O. berlangai, O. bulleri and O. medirastre exluded); Cobo & Massey, 1949:7, fig. 5 (Ecuador, listed); Peterson, 1956:178 (Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica), Chirichigno, 1963:14, fig. 6 (Puerto Pizarro and Puerto Rico, Peru). |
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| FAO Names | | En - Pacific thread herring, Fr - Chardin du Pacifique, Sp - Machuelo hebra pinchagua. |
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3Alpha Code: THP Taxonomic Code: 1210504201 |
| Scientific Name with Original Description | | | Meletta libertatis Günther, 1867, Proc.zool.Soc.Long., (3):603 (La Libertad, El Salvador; part 3 issued April 1867, nit in 1866). |
| Diagnostic Features
| | Can be confused with: The filamentous last dorsal finray distinguishes it from members of any other eastern Pacific clupeoid genus. Separated from other eastern Pacific Opisthonema species by having 63 to 110 lower gillrakers in fishes over 14 cm standard length (41 to 69 in O. medirastre, only 25 to 36 in O. bulleri; in O. berlangai there are 50 to 87, but it occurs only in the Galapagos Islands.
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| Geographical Distribution | |
| | Eastern Pacific (Santa Rosalita, Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico, southward to Pta Sal and Pta Picos, Peru). |
| Habitat and Biology | | | Coastal,pelagic, schooling. Apparently the most abundant of the eastern Pacific species of Opisthonema.Feeds on crustaceans and pteropods. |
| Size | | | To 25 cm standard length, usually 12 to 18 cm. |
| Interest to Fisheries | | Of some importance as a live bait until introduction of purse seines for tuna. Contributed to the total Opisthonema catch in the eastern Pacific of 40 481 t in 1983 (the major part from Ecuador). The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 60 999 t. The countries with the largest catches were Panama (38 746 t) and Ecuador (22 253 t).
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| Local Names | | |
See Cervigón & Fischer (1979). |
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Bibliography Berry & Barrett, (1964 - taxonomy only) earlier works probably combined data for O. bulleri and O. medirastre, e.q. Peterson, (1956 - biol., etc.). |
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