Dogtooth herring (Chirocentrodon bleekerianus)

Scientific name: Chirocentrodon bleekerianus Poey, 1867

Dogtooth herring (Chirocentrodon bleekerianus)

The Dogtooth herring (Chirocentrodon bleekerianus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Occurs in coastal areas, but also in lagoons and off river mouths, perhaps entering water of lowered salinity. In Southwestern Atlantic preys on proportionally large clupeoid fishes and caridean shrimps. Fishes are distinctively folded in the stomachs of this herring, in about 90% of the cases with their heads and tails pointing head-wards the predator. This herring stands out as the only small-sized species among the predaceous fish-eating clupeiforms. The well developed canine-like teeth are likely related to a piscivorous diet and may play a role in the folding and orientation of fish during prey handling and swallowing. Spawns during the northern winter.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Chirocentrodon bleekerianus
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
11.0
Common length
9.0
Depth range
20–60 m (66–197 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; depth range 20 - 60 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad; Panama and coasts of Venezuela, including off Orinoco mouth, Guyana, Suriname south to Ubatuba, near Santos, Brazil. Antilles and southern Caribbean from Yucatan to Santos, Brazil.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries

Sources

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

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