Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Elops affinis Regan, 1909

Chiro, chiro, diabla, Pacific Machete, ladyfish

Body long and slender, somewhat oval section ; mouth at from or low jaw projecting with bony plate between lower jaws. back dark blue-green to light brown; flanks silvery with slight yellow highlights; fins slightly yellowish(ref. 55763). Caudal rays: principal (10+8-9), procurrent (upper:8, lower: 8) Branchiostegal rays: 23-35,Dorsal spines(total): 0; Dorsal soft rays(total): 20 - 27; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 18; Vertebrae: 78 - 82. Body slender and elongate; mouth large and terminal; bony plate present between branches of lower jaw; branchiostegal rays very numerous (25 to 35); fins lacking spines; lower branch of first gill arch with 16 to 20 gill rakers; scales very small, 100 to 120 in the lateral line.

Subtropical;Pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 8 m (Ref. 5227)

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Teleostei

Order
Elopiformes

Family
Elopidae

Genus
Elops

Species
affinis

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Vagrant

Status

Data deficient

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: South California to Peru, Ecuador, Galapagos Eastern Pacific.

References

  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
  • Froese, R. Pauly, D. (eds.) (2010) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org
  • Grove, J.S. Long, D.J., Robertson, D.R. & Victor, B.C. (2022) List of Fishes of the Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 39, 14–22.
  • Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
  • McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
  • Robertson, D.R. (2002) NT/complete

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Elops affinis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7655. Accessed 4 April 2026.