Bonga shad

📖 Overview

Ethmalosa fimbriata is found in fairly shallow coastal waters, lagoons and estuaries, and sometimes also in lower courses of coastal rivers, even more than 300 km up rivers . It feeds principally on phytoplankton, chiefly diatoms, filtered by the very fine gillraker sieve . It breeds throughout the year in waters of salinities 3.5-38 ppt, but with peaks in at least some areas; spawns in the sea, in estuaries and in rivers . The largest fisheries are in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon, mainly in the dry season .

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16 - 19; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 19 - 25; Vertebrae: 40 - 44. Diagnosis: Body fairly deep, compressed, scutes present along belly; upper jaw with distinct notch, into which tip of lower jaw fits; lower gillrakers long, fine and numerous, about 3 times as long as gill filaments, upper gillrakers bent sharply upward, V-shaped; pelvic fin rays with 1 unbranched and 7 branched rays; caudal fin tips long and pointed . A faint dark spot behind gill cover, sometimes followed by others; dorsal fin tip black; caudal fin deep chrome yellow; golden tints on body . Ethmalosa fimbriata resembles Sardinella aurita, Sardinella rouxi and especially Sardinella maderensis, but these are more slender, have a rounded upper jaw which is not notched and the upper gillrakers are not bent upward like an elbow . : fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Bonga shad is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

Breeds all year in waters of salinities 3.5 to 38 ppt, but with peaks in at least some areas, becoming progressively later to south. Spawns in the sea, in estuaries and in rivers.

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; catadromous ; depth range 0 - 50 m , usually 0 - 50 m . Tropical; 25°N - 8°S, 17°W - 14°E central Atlantic Ocean, from Dakhla in Western Sahara southward to Lobito Bay in Angola (Ref.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🌐 Names & Taxonomy

Scientific Synonyms

🔍 Similar Species

🗺️ Global Occurrence Map

Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 600 records indexed .

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