Common Name
Skipjack Shad
Year Described
Rafinesque, 1820
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 16-21
Anal Fin: 18-21
Pectoral Fin: 15-17
Pelvic Fin: 9
Vertebrae: 53-55
Scales: 51-60 (transverse rows)
Ventral Scutes: 33-37
Gill Rakers: 20-24 (lower limb of first arch)
Body fusiforme and compressed. Ventral profile extremely convex from pelvic fin to lower jaw. Head moderate. Snout equal to eye diameter. Mouth large, extending to rare margin of eye. Upper jaw distinctly notched (unique to Brevoortia, Alosa, and Dorosoma. Lower jaw fits into upper jaw notch, projects beyond upper, and does not rise steeply within the mouth. Teeth present in lower jaw (adults). Dorsal fin at midbody with a strongly concave margin. Anal fin origin well behind last dorsal ray. Pelvic fin under dorsal fin. Pectoral fin low on side. Tail forked. Body fully scaled. Pre-dorsal scales not enlarged, modified, or fringed. Axillary scale of pelvic fin about 3/4 fin length. Belly scutes keeled.
Color
Back dark blue to green, becoming abruptly pale green to brassy on the sides and grading to white on the belly. No obvious spots. Tip of jaws dark. Dorsal and caudal fins yellowish to dusky. Rest of fins pale.
Size
Maximum size 50cm SL, but common to 45cm SL.
Habitat
Found in fresh, brackish, and coastal marine waters. Strongly migratory.
Range
Gulf of Mexico: Texas to northwestern Florida. Known from throughout the Mississippi River Basin.
References
Hildebrand, S.F. 1964. Engraulidae and Clupeidae (pp. 152-454). In: Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Mem. Sears Fnd. Mar. Res. 1 (Vol. 3): 1-630.
McEachran, J.D. & J.D. Fechhelm. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. Volume 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. University of Texas Press, Austin. i-viii + 1-1112.
Munroe, T.A. & M.S. Nizinski. 2002. Clupeidaeidae (pp 804-830). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae-Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
Other Notes
A related species living on the east coast is Alosa mediocris.