It is easily distinguished by its deeply cleft mouth, the angle of the gape being behind the eyes.
The pointed snout extends beyond the lower jaw.
The fish resembles a sprat in having a forked tail and a single dorsal fin, but the body is round and slender.
The record weight for a single fish is 49g.
The maximum recorded length is 21 cm (8 ¹⁄₈ in).
13.5 cm is a more typical length.
It has a silver underbelly and blue, green or grey back and sides.
A silver stripe along the side fades away with age.
It is easily distinguished by its deeply cleft mouth, the angle of the gape being behind the eyes. The pointed snout extends beyond the lower jaw. The fish resembles a sprat in having a forked tail and a single dorsal fin, but the body is round and slender. The record weight for a single fish is 49g. The maximum recorded length is 21 cm (8 ¹⁄₈ in). 13.5 cm is a more typical length. It has a silver underbelly and blue, green or grey back and sides. A silver stripe along the side fades away with age.
European anchovy