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Brevoortia tyrannus  (Latrobe, 1802)

Atlantic menhaden
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Image of Brevoortia tyrannus (Atlantic menhaden)
Brevoortia tyrannus
Picture by Flescher, D.

United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Atlantic menhaden, Bugfish, Bunker
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: highly commercial | Ref: FAO, 1992
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Present in the continental shelf waters off the northeastern United States (Ref. 37512). Nearly all sections of Chesapeake Bay (Ref. 38947), particularly in New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia (Ref. 4607, 38971). Also Ref. 27549, 93252.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Whitehead, P.J.P., 1985
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Clupeiformes (Herrings) > Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens) > Alosinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Menhaden tyran, Lacha tirana, Bony fish, ... more

Main reference

Whitehead, P.J.P. 1985. (Ref. 188)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188)

Length at first maturity
 Lm ?, range 18 - 32 cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; pH range: 1.0 - 36.0; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 188)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; ? - 26°C (Ref. 38970), preferred 15°C (Ref. 107945); 46°N - 30°N, 81°W - 64°W (Ref. 54290)

Distribution

Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada southward to Indian River, Florida, USA.
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 18-24; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 18 - 24. Upper jaw with median notch. Pelvic fin with rounded hind margin, inner fin rays equal or nearly equal to outer fin rays when fin folded back. Pre-dorsal scales modified; scales on back, above base of anal fin and at base of tail much smaller and irregularly placed. A black spot behind gill opening, followed along flank by approximately 6 lines of smaller spots (Ref. 188). Silvery, with brassy sides and a dark bluish green back (Ref. 7251).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found inshore in summer, but at least some moving into deeper water in winter. Adults are found in near surface waters (Ref. 38984), usually in shallow areas overlying continental shelf, in greatest abundance immediately adjacent to major estuaries (Ref. 4639). Juveniles are also generally pelagic, with smallest size groups farthest up river (Ref. 38986). Form large and very compact schools, both of juveniles and adults. Migrate north - south; also in and out of bays and inlets. Feed by filtering phytoplankton (diatoms (Ref. 5951)) and zooplankton (small crustaceans, annelid worms and detritus (Ref. 5951)). High water temperatures apparently limit breeding. Spawn probably all year; nursery areas in estuaries. Larvae are pelagic (Ref. 38985), probably spend about a month in waters over continental shelf (Ref. 38983), entering estuarine waters at about 10 mm and larger (Ref. 844). Marketed fresh, salted, canned or smoked. Mainly used for production of oil, fertilizer and fishmeal (Ref. 188). Parasites found are isopods, copepod, cestodes and trematodes (Ref. 37032).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

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Internet sources

BHL | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 0.5156 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 3.2   ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.4; tm=1-3; Fec=38,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Low to moderate vulnerability (30 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Low