Key silverside

Key silverside
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Atheriniformes
Family:	Atherinopsidae
Genus:	Menidia
Species:	M. conchorum
Binomial name
Menidia conchorum Hildebrand & Ginsburg, 1927

The Key silverside (Menidia conchorum) is a species of fish in the Atherinopsidae family. It is endemic to the United States.

The Key silverside has been recently recommended for threatened status by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The species is a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern. Species of Concern are those species about which the U.S. Government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Species Description

Getter (1981) determined that the Key silverside has a restricted distribution and is only found in lagoonal and ponded waters of the Florida Keys. These ponds and lagoons are a relatively rare and a novel habitat, and are shared by a distinct community of fishes, many found nowhere else. The Key silverside is the smallest known species of Menidia, females reach 58 mm (standard length) and males 50 mm. While the Key silverside is closely related to (paraphyletic with) the Tidewater silverside (Menidia peninsulae) it is distinctly more deep bodied and yellow in color, restricted in range and habitat. It is also less cold tolerant in lab situations.

Conservation

Habitat destruction for development has reduced available habitats through loss of a number of ponds and formerly occupied sites (Loftus et al. 2002) and ponded and lagoonal habitats.

Conservation Designations

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Based on the finding of the Key silverside BRG and subsequent consultation with other FWC fish experts, staff recommends that the Key silverside (Menidia conchorum) be listed as a Threatened species because it met criteria for listing in accordance with rule 68A-27.0012, F.A.C.

Status Reviews

Research is underway by Dr. Charles D. Getter, who has studied the species since the 1970s for his doctoral dissertation (1981). Charles D. Getter. Ecology and survival of the Key silverside, Menidia conchorum, an atherinid fish endemic to the Florida Keys. PhD, University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences), now being updated with new data and readied for publication.

References

• Ecology and survival of the Key silverside, Menidia conchorum, an atherinid fish endemic to the Florida Keys. PhD, University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Charles D. Getter. 1981.