Machete (Elops affinis) is a saltwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 0–10 m.
Scientific name: Elops affinis · Water: Saltwater, Brackish
Size: up to 91 cm
The machete is a pelagic neritic elopid that occurs in schools in shallow inshore areas and penetrates lagoons and estuaries, and it is recorded from the surface down to 10 m; it also enters brackish water. It feeds on fish and penaeids, and spawning probably occurs in the open sea, with the transparent larvae migrating towards coastal areas. It struggles vigorously when caught on hooks and lines, and it has a low commercial value because of its numerous spines. Maximum length is about 91 cm total length, commonly about 50 cm. It is a minor commercial species and a gamefish. Fishing vulnerability is moderate to high at 48 of 100. IUCN lists it as data deficient.
It has a very round body with a terminal mouth and prominent gill-like formations known as pseudobranchiae, and it carries an unusually large number of dorsal fin rays, between 27 and 35; the anal fin has 13 to 19 rays and the pelvic fins 12 to 16. It differs from most vertebrates in having no conus arteriosus, the tendinous band from which the pulmonary artery arises, and as a result it has a much smaller pulmonary artery. The lateral line is unbranched and carries 95 to 120 scales, and every scale is silvery and cycloid, matching the overall colour of the fish, though yellow pigment can appear in the eyes. Prominent auxiliary and inguinal processes help in identifying it. Inside the United States the species is restricted mainly to the south-west, with most records coming from the Colorado River Delta and the Gulf of California, where it spawns before travelling south-west into Arizona; it was once common in the Salton Sea in California but numbers there have been slowly declining. During floods it enters the lower Colorado River from the Gulf, and there are records as far south as certain Mexican dams. It is primarily a marine form needing higher salinity than most freshwater fish, and it has evolved efficient swimming that lets it use lagoons and estuaries of higher salinity.
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