key silverside

Open encyclopedia reference

The Key silverside (Menidia conchorum) is a species of fish in the family Atherinopsidae: Menidiinae. It is endemic to the Florida Keys.

The American Fisheries Society (2023) and Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (2023) both verify Menidia conchorum as a distinct species. Research by authorities such as Robins and Ray (1986), Gilbert (1992), Conover et al. (2000), and Musick et al. (2000) supports its classification, establishing it as genetically and morphologically unique from related species. Population genetics studies (O'Leary et al., 2016) further confirm its status as a valid species, distinguishing it through genetic and morphological analyses.

Since the 1980s, Menidia conchorum populations have faced a significant decline, predominantly due to the rapid disappearance of their habitat in the salt-ponded waters of the lower Florida Keys and, more importantly, due to the effect of rising sea levels. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently cataloged the species as threatened. The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has also identified the species as a Species of Concern.

Wikipedia contributors, Key silverside; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:12:05.138918+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Menidia conchorum Hildebrand & Ginsburg, 1927

Name authority

Hildebrand & Ginsburg, 1927

Common name

key silverside

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Atheriniformes

Family

Atherinopsidae

Genus

Menidia

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. orderAtheriniformes
11. suborderAtherinopsoidei
12. familyAtherinopsidae Fitzinger, 1873
13. subfamilyMenidiinae Schultz, 1948
14. genusMenidia Bonaparte, 1836
15. speciesMenidia conchorum Hildebrand & Ginsburg, 1927

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 104 records assigned to Atherinopsidae.

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. Hildebrand, S. F., & Ginsburg, I. (1927). Descriptions of two new species of fishes from Key West, Fla., with notes on nine other species collected in the same locality. Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, 42 (1013): 207–215, 2 pls. 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:3ZQL5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.