Clupeiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the herring family, Clupeidae, and the anchovy family, Engraulidae. The group includes many of the most important forage and food fish.
Clupeidae is a family of clupeiform ray-finned fishes, comprising, for instance, the herrings and sprats. Many members of the family have a body protected with shiny cycloid scales, a single dorsal fin, 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 of many marine food webs, the levels of methylmercury they bioaccumulate are very low, reducing the risk of mercury poisoning when consumed.
Alosa is a genus of fish, the river herrings, in the family Alosidae. Along with other genera in the subfamily Alosinae, they are generally known as shads. They are distinct from other herrings by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. Several species can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Also, several taxa occur in the brackish-water Caspian Sea and the Black Sea basin. Many are found in fresh water during spawning and some are only found in landlocked fresh water.
The skipjack herring is a North American, migratory, fresh- and brackish water fish species in the herring family Alosidae. The name skipjack shad comes from the fact that it is commonly seen leaping out of the water while feeding. Other common names include blue herring, golden shad, river shad, Tennessee tarpon, and McKinley shad. The skipjack shad is restricted to the Gulf of Mexico drainage basins. Skipjack are found in clear to moderately turbid water in areas with flow. Because they are a migratory species, dams often impede their reproduction. Records suggest that this species was much more abundant in the Upper Mississippi River basin before it was impounded. Currently, skipjack is most abundant in the Upper Mississippi River below the mouth of the Ohio River. They are known as an "early-run" species as they migrate to spawn in the early spring.
The hickory shad, fall herring, mattowacca, freshwater taylor or bonejack is a member of the family Alosidae, ranging along the East Coast of the United States from Florida to the Gulf of Maine. It is an anadromous fish species, meaning that it spawns in freshwater portions of rivers, but spends most of its life at sea. It is subject to fishing, both historic and current, but it is often confused with or simply grouped together with American shad in catch statistics.
Gasteroclupea is a genus of prehistoric ellimmichthyiform fish that is distantly related to modern anchovies and herrings. It contains one species, G. branisai. It inhabited freshwater or estuarine habitats across South America during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous period, and it briefly survived beyond the K-Pg boundary into the Danian stage of the Paleocene, making it among the few genera from its order to survive into the Cenozoic. Fossils of the genus have been found in the Yacoraite Formation of Argentina, the Chaunaca Formation, Santa Lucía Formation, and El Molino Formation of Bolivia, and the Navay Formation in Venezuela.
Dussumieriidae is a family of clupeiform fishes popularly called the "round herrings". It is now recognized by FishBase as a family in its own right; it had been considered to be a subfamily of Clupeidae. It contains two extant genera, and some potential fossil genera. Possibly the earliest record of the group is Nardoclupea from the Campanian of Italy.
Alosa caspia is a species of alosid fish, one of the species of shad endemic to the Caspian Sea basin.
Alisea is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine clupeiform fish that lived in what is now California during the Upper Miocene subepoch. Although generally considered a relative of the herrings in the family Clupeidae, an affinity to shads has also been suggested due to its large size and well-developed abdominal scutes. Its name derives from alise, an alternate spelling for the Hindi name of the related ilish fish.
Etrumeus micropus is a species of round-herring that occurs in the western Pacific Ocean.
Alosa braschnikowi, the Caspian marine shad or Brazhnikov's shad, is one of the alosid fish species endemic to the Caspian Sea.
The elongate ilisha, also known as the Chinese herring or slender shad, is a species of longfin herring native to the coastal waters and estuaries of North Indian Ocean and Northwest Pacific. It is a relatively large species, up to 45–60 centimetres (18–24 in) in total length. It is an important fishery species.
Anodontostoma chacunda or Chacunda gizzard shad is a small species of gizzard shad found in both fresh and marine waters. The fish is from the family Clupeidae.
Stolephorus advenus, the false Indian anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It is found in the western-central Pacific Ocean.
Stolephorus brachycephalus, the broadhead anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It is found in the western-central Pacific Ocean.
Stolephorus dubiosus, the Thai anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It is found in the western-central Pacific Ocean.
Stolephorus multibranchus, also known as Caroline anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It is found in the western-central Pacific Ocean.
Stolephorus nelsoni, also known as Nelson's anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It is found in the eastern Indian Ocean.
Stolephorus ronquilloi, the Ronquillo's anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It is found in the western-central Pacific Ocean.
The Ellimmichthyiformes, also known as double-armored herrings, are an extinct order of ray-finned fish known from the Early Cretaceous to the Oligocene. They were the sister group to the extant true herrings, shad and anchovies in the order Clupeiformes, with both orders belonging to the suborder Clupeomorpha.
