Harengula thrissina
Flatiron Herring
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Clupeidae (Herrings)
Harengula
Harengula thrissina (Flatiron Herring)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. tooth plate on tongue and tooth plate behind it (basihyal and basibranchial tooth plates) broad, their width about 3 to 5 times in their combined lengths. Last dorsal fin ray not elongate (cf. Opisthonema). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: La Jolla, California to Peru (at least to Callao), including the Gulf of California (Ref. 35601). (This species seems to have two forms or subspecies: Harengula thrissina thrissina from the Gulf of California to Panama and Harengula thrissina peruana from Panama to Peru).
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. pelagic-neritic. depth range 0-50 m. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
A schooling species found in coastal waters. Form dense schools along shores and estuarine areas with salinities slightly lower than that of saltwater (Ref. 9291). Feed on planktonic crustaceans (Ref. 9291). Oviparous, with planktonic eggs and larvae (Ref. 35601). Utilized as bait (at least in Mexico and Costa Rica) (Ref. 9291).
Max length: 18.4 cm TL; common length: 8.0 cm SL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Oviparous (Ref. 35601).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2008-05-01. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries.
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.
Whitehead, P.J.P. and Y.R. Rodriguez-Sánchez (1995) Clupeidae. Sardinas, sardinetas, machuelos, sábalos, piquitingas. p. 1015-1025. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome.
Watson, W. and E.M. Sandknop (1996) Clupeidae: herrings. p. 159-171. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current Region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations Atlas No. 33. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 1505 p.
Love, M.S., C.W. Mecklenburg, T.A. Mecklenburg and L.K. Thorsteinson (2005) Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Seattle, Washington, 98104.
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