Loading AI tools
Family of fishes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Alosidae, or the shads,[2][3][4] are a family of clupeiform fishes. The family currently comprises four genera worldwide, and about 32 species.[5]
| Alosidae Temporal range: Possible Late Cretaceous record | |
|---|---|
| |
| Twaite shad, Alosa fallax | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Clupeiformes |
| Suborder: | Clupeoidei |
| Family: | Alosidae Svetovidov, 1952[1] |
| Genera | |
|
see text | |
The shads are pelagic (open water) schooling fish, of which many are anadromous or even landlocked. Several species are of commercial importance, e.g. in the genus Alosa (river herrings), Brevoortia (menhadens), and Sardina. The Alosidae were previously included in the herring family Clupeidae.
Alosidae contains the following 4 genera:[6]
The following fossil Alosidae are also known:[7]
The oldest member of the group is Pugliaclupea from the Campanian of Italy, but its placement in the Alosidae appears to be on weak grounds. Otherwise, all other members of the family are only known from the Eocene onwards.[7] There appears to have been a significant center of endemism for the alosids and other clupeoids in the Paratethys.[8] The freshwater †Chasmoclupea from the Oligocene of Egypt may also be related to the Alosidae.[10]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
