Opisthonema oglinum
Atlantic Thread Herring
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Clupeidae (Herrings)
Opisthonema
Opisthonema oglinum (Atlantic Thread Herring)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Compressed and moderately deep bodied, with a relatively small terminal mouth and a deeply forked caudal fin. Body depth is 30% to 40% and head length is 22% to 28% of SL. Symphysis of upper jaw is not notched. Maxilla extends to anterior margin of pupil. Teeth are lacking in jaws. Two supramaxillae are attached to dorso-posterior margin of maxilla. Isthmus is triangular and lacks shoulders. Suborbital bone is longer than it is deep. Gill rakers on upper limb do not overlap those of lower limb of first arch. Gill rakers of first arch number 28 to 46. Vertical anterior edge of shoulder girdle has bilobed dermal fold. Pectoral fin has 15 to 17 rays. Dorsal fin originates closer to tip of snout than to base of caudal fin, has slightly concave dorsal margin, and has 17 to 21 rays, the last of which is greatly produced into a filament. Pelvic fin inserts under base of dorsal fin, slightly closer to tip of snout than to base of caudal fin, and has 8 rays. Anal fin has 20 to 25 rays. Scales are deciduous and in 43 to 50 transverse rows. Scales along dorsal midline anterior to dorsal fin are normal. Belly has 32 to 36 scutes with ascending arms. Vertebrae number 45 to 48.
Color is bluish to greenish with silvery overtones dorsally and silvery laterally and ventrally. Single black spot above operculum and another posterior to operculum followed by number of smaller spots are usually present. Six or seven dark stripes are present on side. Tips of dorsal and caudal fins are dark.
Distribution
Gulf of Maine to southern Brazil, including Bermuda, the entire Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles.
Entire Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coastal, pelagic. Schooling fish.
Biology
Feeds on zooplankton and nekton. Prey include copepods, small shrimps, crabs, and fishes.
Maximum known size is 300 mm TL.
Spawning takes place from late winter to late summer in coastal waters.
Inhabit harbors and shallow coastal areas (Ref. 9710). Pelagic (Ref. 27549). Form schools (but solitary individuals reported), probably not entering water of low salinity. Feed by filtering plankton (copepods), but also take small fishes, crabs and shrimps. Marketed fresh, frozen and salted; also used in the fishmeal industry. Occur in freshwater in St. Johns River, Florida (Ref. 26938).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23. Resilience: Medium (tm=1-3; tmax=8).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Gunter 1945
Hildebrand 1963d
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Hoese and Moore 1977
Jones et al. 1978b
Lee et al. 1980
Whitehead 1985
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Boschung 1992
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.
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.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
Murdy, E.O. and J.A. Musick (2013) Field guide to fishes of the Chesapeake Bay. JHU Press, 360 p.
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