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• mouth at front, oblique, short
• 1 d
• no ll
• pelvics under d
• belly: usually keel of hard spiny scales
• a: short base, less than 30

HERRINGS, MENHADENS, PILCHARDS, PIQUITINGAS, SARDINES, SHADS, THREAD-HERRINGS

Clupeids are generally small silvery fishes that are easily recognised by their keel of scutes (hardened spiny scales) that form a keel along the belly, and small, often poorly toothed mouths. Other features include a single dorsal fin that is located over the middle of the body; a forked tail fin; usually a short anal fin located well to the rear; pelvic fins on the abdomen below the dorsal fin; pectoral fins low on the side just behind the head; and no fin spines.

Herrings and their relatives are of major importance to fisheries; they constitute about half of the world's catch of fishes. Clupeids are found in most shallow- water habitats including fresh water, brackish estuaries, coastal embayments, and oceanic reefs. They occur in all warm and cold seas. Most are found in schools that may contain hundreds to thousands of individuals. Zooplankton, often crustaceans, is the major dietary item for most clupeids. There are about 227 species in 66 genera; 11 species in 7 genera occur in the tropical eastern Pacific.

References

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