Fish of the Engraulis genus of the Engraulinae subfamily of the Engraulidae (anchovy) family of the Clupeiformes order of the Clupeomorpha superorder.
(European anchovy. Photo © Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. mnhn.fr / fishbase.org)
European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778).
It is a pelagic schooling species. It inhabits the depths of up to 400 meters. It often enters estuaries, bays, as well as rivers and lakes during spawning. The maximum recorded length is 13.5 cm. It feeds on planktonic organisms.
(European anchovy. Photo © datuopinion.com)
It is a permanent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea, which is the target of commercial fishing.
Names of European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) in other languages are as follows:
Açuga (Albanian), Хамсия (Hamsiya) (Bulgarian), Ansjovis (Dutch), Γάβρος (Gavros) (Greek), Boquerón (Spanish), Acciuga (Italian), Europäische Sardelle (German), Sardela europejska (Polish), Biqueirão (Portuguese), Hamsie (Romanian), Европейский анчоус (Evropejski anchous), Хамса (Hamsa) (Russian), Inćun, Inčun, Sardon (Serbian, Slovenian, Croatian), Hamsi (Turkish), Anchois européen (French), Sardel obecná (Czech).