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| fishes text index | photo index |
| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes |
| Mojarras
or Silver-biddies Family Gerreidae updated Feb 11 Where seen? Groups of these small silvery fishes are frequently encountered especially in sandy areas among seagrass meadows near reefs and rubble. What are Mojarras? Also called Silver-biddies or Silver bellies, they belong to Family Gerridae (some place them in the Family Ambassidae). According to FishBase: The family Gerreidae has 8 genera and 40 species. They are found in most tropical seas. Features: Most are small, but the largest can reach 35cm. They have a very protractile mouth which points downwards when extended. Head with scales but with a smooth upper surface. The tail fin is deeply forked. Dorsal fin single with long tip and not deeply notched. Body usually brilliant silver, some species with dark vertical bars or spots. Dark bars appear only in juveniles in some species. Sometimes confused with Glass perchlets (Family Chandidae) which have a deeply notched dorsal fin, that Mojarras lack. What do they eat? They suck up a mouthful of sand with their protractile mouth and sort out edible bottom dwelling creatures, spitting out the debris and sand. Status and threats: Our Mojarras are not listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Over fishing can also have an impact on local populations. |
 Pulau Semakau, Aug 05  Sometimes seen in large numbers. Sisters Island, Nov 05 |
| Family
Gerreidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore.
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Links
References
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Periplus Editions. 292 pp.|
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