Elopidae Valenciennes 1847

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 13

Family Elopidae Valenciennes 1847 ( Fig. 2F ). Ladyfishes, Tenpounders, Machetes; Macabís, Machetes, Peces Torpedo

Description: Body elongate, slender and rounded (little compressed), fusiform; up to 100 cm in length; mouth terminal and relatively long, ending past eye; teeth small, granular, on jaws, roof of mouth, tongue and base of gill arches; scales relatively small, usually 95–120 in lateral-line; all fins without spines; pelvic-fin rays usually 12–16; a single dorsal fin, usually with 20–25 rays, the last ray not elongate; insertion of pelvic fin beneath or posterior to the origin of the dorsal fin; anal-fin rays usually 13–18; caudal fin strongly forked; usually silvery in color ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Mainly marine (rarely brackish and freshwater); tropical and subtropical oceans ( Nelson et al. 2016). One genus and two species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 1; Carcharhinidae (A), Pristidae (B), Dasyatidae (C), Potamotrygonidae (D), Lepisosteidae (E), Elopidae (F), Megalopidae (G), Ophichthidae (H), Anguillidae (I), Engraulidae (J), Pristigasteridae (K), Dorosomatidae (L) and Cyprinidae (M). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).