American harvestfish

The harvestfish is deep-bodied, round, and strongly compressed laterally with a forked caudal fin. It has long, curved, sickle-shaped dorsal and anal fins, lacks pelvic fins, a blunt snout, a small mouth, weak teeth, and lack a longitudinal keel. Harvestfish are usually silvery and iridescent, sometimes with a green tint on its dorsal half, with tinged yellow fins. They usually grow to about 18 to 30 centimetres (7.1 to 11.8 in) in length. Harvestfish have 2–5 total dorsal spines, 38–47 total soft dorsal rays, 2–3 anal spines, and 35–45 soft anal rays. The harvestfish also lacks the mucous pores situated below the anterior half of the dorsal fin that are conspicuous in the butterfish.

The harvestfish is a pelagic schooling fish found in subtropical waters in coastal bays and inshore waters over the continental shelf at moderate depths. Juveniles can be found in shallow coastal waters or near coastal estuaries. They are known for their habit of swimming under certain species of jellyfishes, where they find shelter and perhaps a food supply of small invertebrates that have become entangled in the tentacles, but they are also subject to fatal stings inflicted by these tentacles.

Adults are predatory and feed on small fishes, invertebrates such as jellyfish, crustaceans, and worms. Juveniles are plankton feeders.