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
ray-finned fishes
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species.
The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
, comprising, for instance, the
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
hilsa
The ilish (''Tenualosa ilisha'') ( bn, ইলিশ, translit=iliś; also known as the ilishi, hilsa, hilsa herring or hilsa shad, is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae. It is a very popular and sought-after food ...
, and
menhaden
Menhaden, also known as mossbunker and bunker and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...
s. The clupeoids include many of the most important
food fish
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...
es in the world, and are also commonly caught for production of fish oil and
fish meal
Fish meal is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch and fish by-products to feed farm animals, e.g., pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture DietsFisheri ...
. Many members of the family have a body protected with shiny cycloid (very smooth and uniform) scales, a single
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...
, and a fusiform body for quick, evasive swimming and pursuit of prey composed of small planktonic animals. Due to their small size and position in the lower
trophic level
The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food web. A food chain is a succession of organisms that eat other organisms and may, in turn, be eaten themselves. The trophic level of an organism is the number of steps it i ...
of many marine food webs, the levels of
methylmercury
Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a ...
they bioaccumulate are very low, reducing the risk of
mercury poisoning
Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashe ...
when consumed.
Description and biology
Clupeids are mostly marine
forage fish
Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food ...
, although a few species are found in fresh water. No species has scales on the head, and some are entirely scaleless. The
lateral line
The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...
is short or absent, and the teeth are unusually small where they are present at all. Clupeids typically feed on
plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...
, and range from 2 to 75 cm (0.8 to 30 in.) in length. The family arguably also contains the "
Sundasalangidae
''Sundasalanx'', the Sundaland noodlefishes, is the only genus in the family Sundasalangidae, which belongs to the same order as the herrings and their relatives. This family of extremely small fishes is restricted to freshwater environments of ...
", a paedomorphic taxon first thought to be a distinct
salmoniform
Salmonidae is a family (biology), family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order (biology), order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landl ...
family, but then discovered to be deeply nested in the Clupeidae. In the fossil record, clupeids date back to the early
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
.
Clupeids spawn huge numbers of eggs (up to 200,000 in some species) near the surface of the water. After hatching, the larvae live among the plankton until they develop a
swim bladder
The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...
and transform into adults. These eggs and fry are not protected or tended to by parents. The adults typically live in large
shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
s, seeking protection from
piscivorous
A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...
predators such as
birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
, sharks and other predatory fish, toothed whales, marine mammals, and jellyfish. They also form bait balls.
Commercially important species of the Clupeidae include the
Atlantic menhaden
The Atlantic menhaden (''Brevoortia tyrannus'') is a North American species of fish in the herring family, Clupeidae.
Atlantic menhaden are found in North Atlantic coastal and estuarine waters from Nova Scotia south to northern Florida. They ar ...
Pacific herring
The Pacific herring (''Clupea pallasii'') is a species of the herring family associated with the Pacific Ocean environment of North America and northeast Asia. It is a silvery fish with unspined fins and a deeply forked caudal fin. The distribut ...
(''C. pallasii''), and the
European pilchard
The European pilchard (''Sardina pilchardus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus ''Sardina''. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast ...
or sardine (''Sardina pilchardus'').
The family currently comprises 54
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
and around 200 species.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy based on the works of Van der Laan 2017 and Nelson, Grande & Wilson 2016.
* †'' Knightia''
* ''
Platanichthys
''Platanichthys platana'', the Rio Plata sprat, is a very small species of fish belonging to the herring family, Clupeidae. It is endemic to South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in ...
''
* ?Subfamily Spratelloidinae Jordan 1925 sensu Lavoue et al. 2014
** ''
Jenkinsia
''Jenkinsia'' is a genus of round herring in the family Clupeidae. They are found in the central western Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Kar ...
''
** '' Spratelloides''
* Subfamily Clupeinae Cuvier 1816 sensu Lavoue et al. 2013
** ''
Clupea
''Clupea'' is genus of planktivorous bony fish belonging to the family Clupeidae, commonly known as herrings. They are found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Two main ...
''
** ''
Ethmidium
Menhaden, also known as mossbunker and bunker and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...
''
** ''
Hyperlophus
''Hyperlophus'' is a genus of sprat belonging to the herring family Clupeidae. They are endemic to the waters around Australia. There are currently two species recognized in the genus.
Species
* ''Hyperlophus translucidus'' (McCulloch
McCull ...
''
** ''
Potamalosa
''Potamalosa richmondia'', the Australian freshwater herring, is a fish that is endemic to Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia ( ...
Sprattus
''Sprattus'' is a genus of small oily fish of the family Clupeidae. They are more usually known by their common name, sprats. There are five species in the genus.
Species
* ''Sprattus antipodum'' (Hector, 1872) (New Zealand blueback sprat)
* ...
Clupeonella
''Clupeonella'' is a genus of fish in the family Clupeidae. They are widespread in the fresh and brackish waters of the Caspian Sea and Black drainages.
Species
* ''Clupeonella abrau'' (Maliatsky, 1930) (Abrau sprat)
* ''Clupeonella caspia'' Sv ...
Ehirava
''Ehirava fluviatilis'', or the Malabar sprat, is a species of fish endemic to the rivers and coastal lagoons and estuaries of southern India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seven ...
Minyclupeoides
''Minyclupeoides dentibranchialus'' is an extremely small fish () found only in the Mekong Basin in Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in t ...
Sundasalanx
''Sundasalanx'', the Sundaland noodlefishes, is the only genus in the family Sundasalangidae, which belongs to the same order as the herrings and their relatives. This family of extremely small fishes is restricted to freshwater environments of ...
Anodontostoma
''Anodontostoma'' is a small genus of gizzard shads found in the Indo-Pacific region. It currently contains three described species.
Species
* ''Anodontostoma chacunda
''Anodontostoma chacunda'' or Chacunda gizzard shad is a small species ...
Gudusia
''Gudusia'' is a clupeid fish genus involving two species of shad in the rivers of South and Southeast Asia:
* ''Gudusia chapra'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (Indian river shad)
* ''Gudusia variegata
''Gudusia'' is a clupeid fish genus involving two ...
''
*** ''
Konosirus
''Konosirus punctatus'' is a species of fish in the family Dorosomatidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Konosirus''. Its common names include dotted gizzard shad and konoshiro gizzard shad.Froese, R. and D. Pauly. (Eds.Common ...
Tenualosa
''Tenualosa'' is a genus of fish in the family Clupeidae. When subfamilies are recognized, it is placed in the subfamily Alosinae (the shads) or Dorosomatinae (gizzard shads).
Species
There are currently five recognized species in this genus: ...
''
** Tribe Dorosomatini
*** ''
Amblygaster
''Amblygaster'' is a small genus of sardinellas in the herring family Clupeidae. It currently contains three species.
Species
* '' Amblygaster clupeoides'' Bleeker, 1849 (Bleeker's smoothbelly sardinella)
* '' Amblygaster leiogaster'' (Valenci ...
''
*** ''
Dorosoma
''Dorosoma'' is a genus that contains five species of shads, within the herring family Clupeidae. The five species are native to the North and/or Central America, and are known from both fresh water and the waters of estuaries and bays.
The Ame ...
Ethmalosa
''Ethmalosa fimbriata'', the bonga shad or just bonga, is a shad, a clupeid fish, that occurs along the coasts and in brackish water of coastal lagoons, rivers and lakes of western Africa from Dakhla in Western Sahara to Lobito in Angola. It i ...
Hilsa
The ilish (''Tenualosa ilisha'') ( bn, ইলিশ, translit=iliś; also known as the ilishi, hilsa, hilsa herring or hilsa shad, is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae. It is a very popular and sought-after food ...
''
*** ''
Opisthonema
''Opisthonema'' is a genus of herrings, the thread herrings, found in tropical waters of the Western Hemisphere. They get their name from a filamentous nature of the last ray of the dorsal fin. Currently, five species are in this genus.
Specie ...