Red Sea Hardyhead Silverside
(Atherinomorus forskalii)
Image source: Roberto Pillon | inaturalist.org
General data
Western Indian Ocean: endemic to the Red Sea and has invaded the eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
Max length: 13.3 cm SL
Dorsal spines (total): 5 - 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 10; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 11 - 15; Vertebrae: 40 - 44.
This species is distinguished by the following set of characters: lateral process of premaxilla very low and wide; upper margin of dentary almost flat distally, no distinct tubercle at the posterior end; posterior tip of the upper jaw reaching to or exceeding a vertical through anterior margin of the pupil, and not reaching to a vertical through center of the pupil; teeth on endopterygoids large, forming distinct ridges; anus located around posterior tip of the pelvic fin; lower gill rakers 20-23; midlateral scale count 39-43; lower margin of midlateral band reaching to or just below ventral end of the midlateral (third) scale row at the level of the anal fin origin.
