Gilchrist's round herring

📖 Overview

Occurs in the sea, but found mostly in estuaries; also found in landlocked brackish and freshwater lagoons , also rivers and lakes . Maximum size 10 cm . Entire life cycle is completed in the estuary . Breeds throughout the year with a peak in spring and early summer . Maturity may be attained within the first or second year and an age of up to 5 or 6 years is recorded . Feeds chiefly on zooplankton by filtering or selecting individual organisms from the water column . It can tolerate salinities under 4 ppt and of up to 52.6 ppt . Utilized fresh or dried and salted .

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 20. Diagnosis: Body rather compressed, belly rounded, with 6 to 9 thin unkeeled pre-pelvic scutes followed by an equally thin pelvic scute, all with slender ascending arms; no post-pelvic scutes; snout pointed, lower jaw a little prominent, with a single row of fine teeth in each jaw; posterior supra-maxilla paddle-shaped; gillrakers 39 to 76, gillrakers small but present on posterior face of third epibranchial; pelvic fin with i-7 finrays, under or a little before dorsal fin origin . Resembles Spratelloides species or juvenile Etrumeus and Dussumieria, but pre-pelvic scutes present; other clupeids occuring in same area have keeled pre-pelvic and post-pelvic scutes . : fusiform / normal; Cross section: oval.

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Gilchrist's round herring is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

A semelparous species that grows to maturity and spawns in one year .

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; amphidromous. Subtropical; 25°S - 36°S, 17°E - 34°E south and east coasts of South Africa to Saldanha Bay (Ref.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🔍 Similar Species

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