Members: 2 genera; 2 families.
Use: many important forage and food fish like herring and anchovis.
ZoologyFish; school fish; physostomes, which means that their 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 most fish.
Color: generally silvery
Form: streamlined, spindle-shaped.
Food: plankton.
TaxonomyThe former order of Isospondyli was subsumed mostly by
Clupeiformes, but some isospondylous fishes (isospondyls) were assigned to
Osteoglossiformes,
Salmoniformes, Cetomimiformes.
FamiliesSuborder Denticipitoidei
◦ Denticipitidae: Denticle herring)
Suborder Clupeoidei
◦
Engraulidae: Anchovies)
◦ Spratelloididae
◦ Pristigasteridae: Longfin herrings.
◦ Chirocentridae: Wolf herrings.
◦ Dussumieriidae: Round herrings.
◦
Clupeidae: Herrings, sardines, shads, and menhadens.