The Alosidae, or the shads, are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of clupeiform fishes. The family currently comprises four genera worldwide, and about 34 species. The shads are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

(open water) schooling fish, of which many are

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

or even landlocked. Several species are of commercial importance, e.g. in the genus ''

Alosa ''Alosa'' is a genus of fish, the river herrings, in the family (biology), family Clupeidae. Along with other genera in the subfamily Alosinae, they are generally known as shads. tp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/ac482e/ac482e27.pdf Subfamily A ...

'' (river herrings), ''Brevoortia'' (menhadens), and '' Sardina''. The Alosidae were previously included in the herring family European pilchard">Sardina''. The Alosidae were previously included in the herring family Clupeidae.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2650600 Alosinae, Ray-finned fish families

See also

See also

References