Atlantic silverside
Menidia menidia (Linnaeus, 1766)
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 Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia), also known as spearing in the northeastern United States, is a small species of fish that is one of the most abundant fish species present in estuarine habitats along the Atlantic coast of North America. It is a common subject of scientific research because of its sensitivity to environmental changes. According to the IUCN Red List, this species is stable and has no major threats to its populations, so it is marked Least Concern. Despite being an extremely common species, most individuals die after one year once they migrate offshore, but a few will make it to two years. The fish is mostly translucent, with white coloring on the anterior end of the body and brown speckling on the top of the head, the posterior scales on the back, and near the jaw. A distinctive silver band runs the length of the fish, next to the lateral line. Their mouths are large compared to other Menidia species, and their first dorsal fins are placed more posteriorly than other silversides.
Wikipedia contributors, Atlantic silverside; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:40:33.339940+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Menidia menidia (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Common name
- Atlantic 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAtheriniformes
- suborderAtherinopsoidei
- familyAtherinopsidae Fitzinger, 1873
- subfamilyMenidiinae Schultz, 1948
- genusMenidia Bonaparte, 1836
- speciesMenidia menidia (Linnaeus, 1766)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Menidia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Texas silversideMenidia clarkhubbsi Echelle & Mosier, 1982 | AtherinopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| golden silversideMenidia colei Hubbs, 1936 | AtherinopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| key silversideMenidia conchorum Hildebrand & Ginsburg, 1927 | AtherinopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Menidia extensa Hubbs & Raney, 1946 | AtherinopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mississippi silversideMenidia audens Hay, 1882 | AtherinopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| inland silversideMenidia beryllina (Cope, 1867) | AtherinopsidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Menida menida (Linnaeus, 1766) (Linnaeus, 1766) | synonym |
| Menidia dentex Goode & Bean, 1882 Goode & Bean, 1882 | synonym |
| Menidia notata (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815) | synonym |
| Phoxargyrea dayi Fowler, 1903 Fowler, 1903 | synonym |
| Atherina notata Mitchill, 1815 Mitchill, 1815 | synonym |
| Atherina boscii Valenciennes, 1835 Valenciennes, 1835 | synonym |
| Atherina viridescens Mitchill, 1815 Mitchill, 1815 | synonym |
| Atherina menidia Linnaeus, 1766 Linnaeus, 1766 | ambiguous synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159228 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:3ZQLB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.