Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema oglinum)

Scientific name: Opisthonema oglinum Lesueur, 1818

Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema oglinum)

The Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema oglinum) is a marine fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Inhabit harbors and shallow coastal areas. 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.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Opisthonema oglinum
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
38.0
Common length
20.0
Depth range
5 m (16 ft)
Environment
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 5 - ? m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine (USA), Bermuda, throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and West Indies southward to Santa Catarina, Brazil. The Colombian form is possibly a subspecies, Opisthonema oglinum captivai. Also found in Uruguay and Argentina.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; bait: usually
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=1-3; tmax=8)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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