Common Name
Gulf Menhaden
Year Described
Goode, 1878
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 17-21
Anal Fin: 20-23
Pectoral Fin: 14-17
Pelvic Fin: 7 (6 branched)
Vertebrae: 42-28 (usually 45-47)
Lateral Line Scales: 42-48
Ventral Scutes: 28-32
Gill Rakers: 135-150 (lower limb first arch in adults)
Body deep and compressed. Ventral profile extremely convex from pelvic fin to lower jaw. Head and gill cover large. 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. Teeth absent. Dorsal fin at midbody with a strongly concave margin. Anal fin origin about under last dorsal ray. Pelvic fin under dorsal fin, with a slightly rounded posterior margin: Innermost rays about the same length as outermost rays. Pectoral fin close to (1-2 scales) pelvic base when extended. Tail forked. Body fully scaled. Predorsal scales present on midline from nape to dorsal fin: overlapping and with irregular rough edges.
Color
Body silvery with a gray back. Sides often with a golden wash. A single black spot behind gill cover is followed by several other fainter spots. Dorsal and caudal fins golden. Caudal fin with dusky margin. Rest of fins clear.
Size
Maximum size to 27cm SL. Common under 20cm SL.
Habitat
Inshore pelagic, from fully saline coastal to estuarine. Juveniles in lower salinities. Forms large schools.
Range
Gulf of Mexico: southwestern Florida to the Bay of Campeche.
References
Hildebrand, S.F. 1948. A review of the American menhaden, genus Brevoortia, with a description of a new species. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Vol. 107. No. 18: 1-39.
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
This species is the sister species to the Atlantic coast B. tyrannus. This is the only “large-scaled” menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico.