Article
Article
Herrings
Article By:
Boschung, Herbert T. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.315300
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The common name applied to certain fishes in the order Clupeiformes. Herring is not a taxonomic unit of fishes; therefore, it cannot be precisely defined. The typical image of herrings is a composite of the species in the family Clupeidae (Fig. 1); however, species in other families of clupeiforms bear the name herring, and species of Clupeidae may be named shad, menhaden, pilchard, sardine, sprat, and alewife, as well as herring. Most species of herrings inhabit coastal marine environments, where they form large schools at or near the surface and feed by filtering plankton from the water. They are typically prolific, broadcasting eggs and sperm in large quantities; however, some produce only small numbers of eggs or attach their eggs to the substrate. See also: Actinopterygii; Clupeiformes; Osteichthyes
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