Shad (redirected from Pomolobus)

shad, fish, Alosa sapidissima, of the family Clupeidae (herring family), found along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Florida and successfully introduced on the Pacific coast. The shad is one of the largest (6 lb/2.7 kg average) of the herrings and has delicious but bony flesh; its roe is valued as a delicacy. Shad ascend rivers to spawn in the spring; water pollution and indiscriminate netting have cut down their numbers. The gizzard shad, Dorosoma (named for its muscular gizzardlike stomach), a swift, silvery fish, 1 ft (30 cm) long, is found along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Texas and up the Mississippi to the Great Lakes. Shads are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Clupeiformes, family Clupeidae.

Bibliography

See J. McPhee, The Founding Fish (2002).

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shad

Any of several saltwater food fishes of the herring family (Clupeidae) that swim up rivers to spawn. Shad eggs (roe) are a delicacy in the U.S. Adult shad are toothless. The lower jaw of shad in the genus Alosa fits into a notch at the tip of the upper jaw. The American shad (A. sapidissima), an Atlantic fish introduced into the Pacific, is a migratory plankton eater and a good game fish. The Allis (or Allice) shad (A. alosa) of Europe is about 30 in. (75 cm) long and weighs about 8 lbs (3.6 kg). See also whitefish.

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shad

1. any of various herring-like food fishes of the genus Alosa and related genera, such as A. alosa (allis shad) of Europe, that migrate from the sea to freshwater to spawn: family Clupeidae (herrings)

2. any of various similar but unrelated fishes

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Shad 

(Alosa sapidissima), a fish of the family Clupeidae (herrings). The largest of the anadromous herrings, the shad is up to 75 cm long and weighs up to 6.4 kg. It is found along the Atlantic coast of North America, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida. It has been acclimatized in the Pacific Ocean, where it is found from Alaska to San Diego and near Kamchatka. The fish ascend rivers to spawn in the spring. The eggs are deposited in batches. Fecundity is up to 150,000 eggs. The diet consists of plankton (usually the larger forms) and, sometimes, fry. The shad is a valuable commercial fish. In recent years, the catch has decreased considerably because of pollution and the regulation of rivers.

REFERENCE

Zhizn’ zhivotnykh, vol. 4, part 1. Moscow, 1971.