Harengula jaguana
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Clupeidae (Herrings)
Harengula
Harengula jaguana (Scaled Sardine)
Description
This species account was compiled from
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Tooth plate on tongue and tooth plate behind it (basihyal and basibranchial tooth plates) very broad, their width about 3 to 5 times in their combined length, the basihyal tooth plate with a very distinct bulge in front (Ref. 188). Scales fairly strongly attached, not easily lost (Ref. 188). No dark pigment on dorsal fin tip (Ref. 188). No orange or red spot at opercle. Belly deep, lower profile decidedly more curved than the flattened upper profile (Ref. 7251). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Western Atlantic: New Jersey, USA and Bermuda southward to Florida (USA), Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and southern Brazil. Often confused with Harengula clupeola with which it co-occurs over most of its range.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. reef-associated. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
Occurs in coastal waters, over mud sand bottoms and frequently near brackish or hyper-saline estuaries (Ref. 5217). Forms schools. Marketed fresh or canned.
Max length: 21.2 cm TL; common length: 12.0 cm SL; max age: 3 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Juveniles of 2.9 to 4.4 cm SL appeared in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, in May and migrated out in December or March at 7.5 to 8.0 cm.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-10-25. Resilience: Medium (K=0.48-0.60; tmax=3; Fec=5,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Whitehead, P.J.P. (1985) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/1):1-303. Rome: FAO.
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Vega-Cendejas, M.E., M. Hernandez and F. Arreguin-Sanchez (1994) Trophic interrelations in a beach seine fishery from the northwestern coast of the Yucatan peninsula. J. Fish Biol. 44(4):647-659.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Motta, P.J., K.B. Clifton, P. Hernandez, B.T. Eggold, S.D. Giordano and R. Wilcox (1995) Feeding relationships among nine species of seagrass fishes of Tampa Bay, Florida. Bull. Mar. Sci. 56(1):185-200.
Gines, H. and F. Cervigón (1967) Exploracion pesquera en las costas de Guyana y Surinam año 1967. Estacíon de Investigaciones Marinas de Margarita. Fundacíon La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, no. 29.
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