ABSTRACT
The Atherinopsidae, comprised by the New World silversides subfamilies Menidiinae and Atherinopsinae, were proposed as a separate family by Saeed et al. (1994). This was confirmed by Dyer & Chernoff (1996) based on twenty diagnostic characters. In our area, Western Central Atlantic (WCA), there are 18 species of Atherinopsidae, all pertaining to the subfamily Menidiinae (Chernoff, 2001). Menidiinae, a group confined to the Americas, occurs primarily in the tropics, has many freshwater species in Mexico and Central America, and is represented by seven genera: Chirostoma, Labidesthes, Menidia, Poblana, Atherinella, Membras and, Melanorhinus (Dyer & Chernoff, 1996). In the WCA region we have Atherinella with 8 species, Melanorhinos with 1 species, Membras with 3 species, and Menidia with 6 species.
