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European anchovy

Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) is a forage fish somewhat related to the herring. It is a type of anchovy; anchovies are placed in the family Engraulidae. It lives off the coasts of Europe and Africa, including in the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov. It is fished by humans throughout much of its range.

Wikipedia contributors, European anchovy; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:00:06.973039+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Name authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name
European anchovy
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Clupeiformes
Family
Engraulidae
Genus
Engraulis
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. gigaclassActinopterygii
  8. superclassActinopteri
  9. classTeleostei
  10. orderClupeiformes
  11. suborderClupeoidei Bleeker, 1859
  12. familyEngraulidae Gill, 1861
  13. subfamilyEngraulinae Gill, 1861
  14. genusEngraulis Cuvier, 1816
  15. speciesEngraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Engraulis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Southern African anchovyEngraulis capensis Gilchrist, 1913EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
silver anchovyEngraulis eurystole (Swain & Meek, 1884)EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Californian anchovyEngraulis mordax Girard, 1854EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Argentine anchovyEngraulis anchoita Hubbs & Marini, 1935EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Japanese anchovyEngraulis japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1846EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Engraulis maeoticus Pusanov & Zeeb, 1926EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Engraulis australis (White, 1790)EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Peruvian anchovyEngraulis ringens Jenyns, 1842EngraulidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 131 records assigned to Engraulidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126426 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:39TLP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.