Clupeiformes
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 Clupeiformes display at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.
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Denticipitidae |
Clupeiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the herring family, Clupeidae, and the anchovy family, Engraulidae. The group includes many of the most important food fish.
Clupeiformes are physostomes, which means that the gas bladder has a pneumatic duct connecting it to the gut. They typically lack a lateral line, but still have the eyes, fins and scales that are common to the fish family, although not all fish have these attributes. They are generally silvery fish with streamlined, spindle-shaped, bodies, and live in large shoals. Most species eat plankton, which they filter from the water with their gill rakers.[1]
[edit] Families
The order includes about 300 species in six families:[2]
Order Clupeiformes
- Family Denticipitidae (denticle herring)
- Family Engraulidae (anchovies)
- Family Pristigasteridae
- Family Chirocentridae (wolf herrings)
- Family Clupeidae (herrings, sardines, shads, and menhadens)
- Family Sundasalangidae (Sundaland noodlefishes)
[edit] References
- ^ Nelson, Gareth (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 91-95. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ "Clupeiformes". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. December 2008 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2008.
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