Common Name
Round Herring
Year Described
Mitchill, 1814
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 16-20
Anal Fin: 10-13
Pectoral Fin:
Pelvic Fin: 8
Vertebrae: 48-56
Lateral Line Scales: 48-55
Gill Rakers: 14-15 upper, 34-38 lower (first arch in adults)
Branchiostegal rays number 14-15.
Body slender and cylindrical in cross-section. Mouth small with a rectangular premaxilla. No scutes on ventral surface. Single dorsal fin. Pelvic and anal fins set far back on body (behind dorsal rearmost ray). Scute anterior to pelvic fin W-shaped. Tail forked.
Color
Body bright silvery, with an olive to bluish back. Often with a brassy sheen.
Size
Maximum size to 25cm TL. Common to about 18cm TL.
Habitat
Offshore pelagic over the continental shelf and slope. Rare inshore. Known to to be a diel vertical migrator. Forms large schools.
Range
Southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Scattered records from the Caribbean Sea and northern South America.
References
DiBattista, J.D., J.E. Randall and B.W. Bowen, 2012. Review of the round herrings of the genus Etrumeus (Clupeidae: Dussumieriinae) of Africa, with descriptions of two new species. Cybium 36(3): 447-460.
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
According to DiBattista et al. (2012), the name Etrumeus sadina refers to the western Atlantic population of what was originally known as E. teres.