Common Name
Hickory Shad
Year Described
Mitchill, 1814
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 15-20
Anal Fin: 19-23
Pectoral Fin: 15-16
Pelvic Fin: 9
Vertebrae: 53-55
Scales: 48-57 (transverse rows)
Ventral Scutes: 33-38
Gill Rakers: 18-23 (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
Gray to greenish above, grading to silvery on the sides and white on the belly. A series of faint dark spots on the side posterior to the upper opercular edge. Dark stripes run long scale rows on the dorsal half of body (most obvious in larger fish). Tip of lower jaw dark. The dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins are dusky. The lower fins are pale.
Size
Maximum size 60cm SL, but common >40cm SL.
Habitat
Found in fresh, brackish, and coastal marine waters. Adults found at sea but migrate into tidal freshwater to spawn.
Range
Maine to east Florida, but most abundant in the Middle Atlantic states.
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.
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
The Atlantic coast sister species to Alosa chrysochloris. Differs in averaging lower gill raker counts, higher anal fin ray counts, and several other morphological characters.