Topsmelt silverside

The topsmelt silverside is a small, slim fish with a dorsally flattened body which can grow up to a total length of 37 centimetres (15 in).It has two separate dorsal fins on its bright green back which contrasts with the silver to pale flanks and silvery underside.[3] This species has a pointed head with small eyes and a rather rounded, blunt snout and an oblique mouth situated terminally with extendible jaws each equipped with a row of tiny forked teeth.[2] The topsmelt silverside is a pelagic schooling fish which occurs in a wide variety of habitats at different times of the year.It is a common species in estuaries but it has also been recorded along the oceanic shoreline and in kelp forests, off sandy beaches, and sometimes in offshore waters.
Conservation statusLeast ConcernIUCN 3.1Scientific classificationEukaryotaAnimaliaChordataActinopterygiiAtheriniformesAtherinopsidaeAtherinopsinaeAtherinopsiniSteindachnerBinomial nameSynonymsGilbertFowlerJordanSnyderNeotropical silversidetotal lengthdorsal finslateral lineanal finpectoral fintranslucentVancouver IslandBritish ColumbiaBaja CaliforniaGulf of Californiakelp forestszooplanktonbenthicchironomidamphipodsmackerelIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesFroese, RainerFishBaseWikidataWikispeciesiNaturalistNatureServeOpen Tree of Life