Reef silverside
The reef silverside (Hypoatherina harringtonensis) is a distinctive species of fish recognized for its unique coloration, which includes an unpigmented, colorless patch along its sides, contrasting with the typical greenish scales seen in most silversides. This long, thin fish typically grows between 2 1/3 to 4 inches (6 to 10 centimeters) in length and features a dusky-green back, silver stripes, and large, round black eyes. It has spiny dorsal fins, high pectoral fins, and several other fins that aid in its mobility through water.
Found in shallow coastal waters and reefs of the Atlantic Ocean—including areas around Bermuda, southern Florida, and the Yucatan to northern South America—the reef silverside thrives in both marine and brackish environments. As a schooling fish, it often congregates in large groups and is omnivorous, primarily feeding on zooplankton, algae, and fish larvae. The spawning process involves females releasing eggs that are then fertilized by males, with a short incubation period leading to the hatching of small, shy young known as fry. While the exact lifespan of the reef silverside is unknown, its relative species, the Atlantic silverside, has a maximum lifespan of about two years. This fish plays a significant role in the local food chain, often serving as bait for fishermen.
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Reef silverside
The reef silverside is unusual among silversides for the unpigmented, or colorless, patch on its sides. Most silversides have greenish scales on their backs and sides, up to the edge of their silvery stripes. The reef silverside, however, has an area of unpigmented scales, silver stripes, and a dusky-green back.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteichthyes
Order: Atherinoidiformes
Family: Atherinidae
Genus: Hypoatherina
Species: Harringtonensis
The reef silverside is a long, thin fish with transparent, or clear, dusky, green scales along its upper body. Although many fish have heads wider than their bodies, the reef silverside does not. Like other silversides, it has a pale, scaleless, rounded body. Along each side, the reef silverside has a silver stripe. This stripe is one of the reasons this fish is classified as a silverside. The reef silverside is unique in that it has an unpigmented, or colorless, patch on each side between its dusky, green scales and its silver stripe. Other silversides do not have these unpigmented areas. The reef silverside has two short, spiny dorsal fins along its back with 12 to 13 dorsal spines that help it balance in the water. It also has pectoral, or side, fins high on its body behind its gills. In addition to its dorsal and pectoral fins, the reef silverside has two anal, or belly, fins and a dusky caudal, or tail, fin. The fins work together to help the reef silverside move through the water. Like other silversides, the reef silverside is noted for having large, round, black eyes. The reef silverside measures 2 1/3 to 4 inches (6 to 10 centimeters) long.
Like other fish, the reef silverside needs oxygen to survive. Unlike humans, it cannot breathe oxygen from the air. Instead, the reef silverside takes in oxygen from its watery surroundings. It takes water into its mouth, uses the oxygen it needs, and filters out the waste chemicals through its gills.
Reef silversides prefer shallow water near reefs, coastal bays, and lagoons. They live in coastal and offshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean around Bermuda, southern Florida, the Bahamas, and from the Yucatan to northern South America, often around drift lines, or areas where the currents shift. They can live in marine (saltwater) or brackish water—an area where saltwater meets freshwater. As a schooling fish, the reef silverside lives in large groups of reef silversides called schools.
Like other silversides, the reef silverside is an omnivorous fish. This means it lives on a diet of both meat and plants. It primarily eats zooplankton, algae, and fish larvae. The reef silverside plays an important part in the food chain. It is often eaten by larger fish. Fishermen use the reef silverside and other silversides as bait.
Spawning season for the reef silverside begins when the female releases her eggs. Once the eggs are released the male swims over them and fertilizes them. This process of releasing and fertilizing eggs is known as spawning. After fertilization, these eggs have a one- to two-week incubation period, or time of growth and development before they hatch. When the young, called fry, hatch, they are small, shy, and antisocial. They begin living in schools when they are about 3/4 of an inch (one centimeter) long.
The life span of the reef silverside is unknown, but its relative, the Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia), has a maximum life span of 2 years.
Bibliography
"Hypoatherina Harringtonensis (Goode, 1877)." Fish Base, fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/3237. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.
"Species: Atherina Harringtonensis, Reef Silverside." Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/806. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.