Distinguishing characteristics
The main differences evident among the various clupeiform groups lie in the positions and sizes of the various fins. If a herring (Clupetta), a pilchard (Sardinops), and a sprat (Sprattus) are held by the leading edge of their dorsal fins, the herring’s body orientation is approximately horizontal, because the fin is located at the centre of the back. In contrast, the pilchard hangs with its tail lower, because the fin is located nearer to the head. Since the sprat’s fin is closer to the tail, the sprat will hang with its head lower. The differences of fin position are not pronounced in the larvae, which have a characteristically elongated form with the dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins located far back. The forward part of the body forms an extremely elongated wormlike feature, and, most characteristic, the dorsal fin is never above the pelvic fins, as it is in adults, but is well back, usually somewhere between the pelvic and anal fins; in larval anchovies, it is even above the anal fin.
During the larval transformation the elongated anterior part of the body becomes progressively shorter, as the fins shift forward by a complicated morphological process. The dorsal fin is shifted forward above the lateral body muscles (myomeres); the pelvic fins move backward to their adult position; and the anal fin moves forward simultaneously. In adults of the families Denticipitidae and Chirocentridae the dorsal fin stays above the anal fin, far back on the body; in the Engraulidae it usually stops a little farther back than the pelvic fins; and in the Clupeidae it generally reaches a position directly above the pelvic fins. As a rule, however, even within families and genera the relative positions of the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins are somewhat variable and are often used in classification. The position of the dorsal fin becomes stable at the time the larvae transform into juveniles. The positions of the anal and pelvic fins, however, often change later in life, probably because of the swelling of the body cavity with gonad development.
With only a few exceptions, fishes with more forwardly positioned dorsal fins have fewer rays in their anal fin but more rays in the dorsal. The lateral line canals on the head are most developed in fishes with the dorsal fin located anteriorly. The lateral line system serves as an orientation device. As it is sensitive to disturbances in the surrounding water, it is most important in fishes that school densely. Not surprisingly, the species with the most progressively developed morphological features (that is, the greatest changes from the “primitive” condition of the larval stage) are the best swimmers and undertake the longest migrations. Such features include the anteriorly located dorsal fin, a smaller number of rays in the anal fin, and a strong lateral line system on the head.
The development of denticles (toothlike skin projections) and teeth represents another specialization of evolutionary importance. The most primitive clupeiform fishes have an enormous number of dermal denticles (on the head and in the mouth), which have been replaced in evolutionarily more-advanced forms by teeth, which are larger and fewer in number. In Denticeps, for example, the whole head and part of the body are covered by numerous small dermal denticles. Different species of the Clupeidae have small denticles or teeth limited to the bones of the mouth cavity, and anchovies have rows of tiny teeth in the jaws. Finally, Chirocentrus has straight sharp teeth on the upper jaw, the tongue, and in a few other places in the mouth and has large “canine” teeth on the lower jaw.
The ventral part of the body in the majority of clupeiform fishes forms a keel, the function of which is widely considered to be an adaptation for removing the sharp shadow that would be created below the central part of the body by top lighting, were the fish cylindrical. Prevention of such a shadow is important to an open-water fish often living close to the surface and unprotected from all sides. Seen from below, the keel and the glossy silver sides of the body cause the fish to disappear in the mirrorlike reflection of the water surface. Viewed from above, the fish is protected by the dark cryptic colouring of the dorsal part, which simulates the colour of the deep water. The predator who encounters and sees the whole school is also deceived by the resemblance of the tight school to a larger organism. Against nets and electronic devices, however, such coloration and schooling behaviour afford little protection.
Physiology
The movement of anadromous clupeiforms from highly saline ocean into freshwater rivers and lakes requires special physiological adaptations to regulate the blood’s osmotic pressure. Osmotic pressure can be described as the pressure of a water solution of salts exerted in either direction against a semipermeable membrane. This pressure is caused by differences between the concentrations of dissolved salts within the body and those outside, in the sea. When a fish enters water of salinity lower than seawater, slight increases in osmotic pressure cause the kidneys to excrete larger amounts of water. The conversion from saltwater to freshwater physiology requires some time, however, so the fish usually remains in brackish waters to avoid a sudden physiological shock. During the periods when anadromous fishes are migrating into or out of fresh water, they form large aggregations in estuaries, awaiting the changeover in their osmotic regulating systems.
Classification
Distinguishing taxonomic features
Three main character complexes have recently been recognized and accepted as distinguishing the clupeiform fishes: (1) the presence of an internal connection between the swim bladder and the inner ear, usually forming two large vesicles (cavities) within the skull bones; (2) certain peculiarities of the skull, involving the relation of the lateral line canals to each other and to the ear; (3) certain complex features in the caudal (tail) fin skeleton.
Annotated classification
A recent and widely accepted classification of the order Clupeiformes by British ichthyologist P.H. Greenwood and American ichthyologists Donn E. Rosen, Stanley H. Weitzman, and George S. Myers (1966) is presented below with modifications by J.S. Nelson (2006) and other sources.
- Order Clupeiformes
- Silvery laterally compressed fishes; mainly marine, but many anadromous or wholly freshwater; mostly pelagic and schooling fishes. Lateral-line canal on head usually extending over operculum (gill cover). About 400 living species.
- Suborder Denticipitoidei
- Caudal skeleton of extremely primitive type; small arches present on 2 centra (bodies of vertebrae) to carry the first 3 hypural bones (fused spines of the vertebrae) of the tail fin. 1 family.
- Family Denticipitidae (denticle herrings)
- The most primitive living clupeiform. Numerous dermal denticles present on head, on the dorsal part of the secondary pectoral girdle, and on the scales around the anterior end of the lateral line. Lateral line completely developed on the trunk. 1 living species, Denticeps clupeoides, in fast-running clear water in medium-sized streams of Nigeria and Cameroon; and a single fossil species, Palaeodenticeps tanganikae, from the Eocene lacustrine sediments in Tanzania.
- Suborder Clupeoidei
- Characteristic caudal skeleton: the second hypural bone lacks any connection with the urostyle (tail support) and is separated from it by a distinct gap. Lateral line pores completely lacking on trunk. Keeled scutes (projecting scales) usually present along the ventral midline of the abdomen. Family Pristigasteridae. Mouth superior or terminal; abdominal scutes present; anal fin long, 30–92 rays; no notch in third hypural bone of caudal skeleton. Primarily marine, some freshwater; Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. 9 genera, 34 species.
- Family Clupeidae (herrings, sardines, pilchards, shads, menhadens, and allies)
- Teeth usually absent in mouth or very weakly developed; minute in jaw. Keel scales well developed, except in round herrings (subfamily Dussumieriinae), in which they are absent and the ventral part of body is rounded. About 56 genera and 190 species, virtually worldwide in marine waters and in many bodies of fresh water.
- Family Engraulidae (anchovies)
- Mostly smaller fishes than clupeids, with the snout projecting beyond the very wide mouth. Upper and lower jaws usually armed with rows of minute teeth that sometimes become larger in the posterior end of the jaws. About 200 species; primarily marine with a few anadromous; found in very large schools.
- Family Chirocentridae (wolf herrings)
- Body laterally compressed and elongated, with sharp, keeled ventral margin; scales small. Lower jaw strongly projecting; large fanglike teeth in both jaws. 1 genus (Chirocentrus), 2 living species (C. dorab and C. nudus) widely but sparsely distributed in the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Ocean off Australia and in Melanesia, the Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa. Used for food in some areas but not very palatable. Larger than other clupeiforms, reaching at least 3.6 metres (12 feet) in length.
- Family Sundasalangidae (Sundaland noodlefishes)
- 1 genus (Sundasalanx), 7 species.
- Family Pristigasteridae (longfin herrings)
- Mouth superior or terminal; abdominal scutes present; anal fin long, 30–92 rays; no notch in third hypural bone of caudal skeleton. Primarily marine, some freshwater; Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. 9 genera, 34 species.
Critical appraisal
Until the revision of the bony fishes by P.H. Greenwood and his colleagues in 1966, the most widely accepted classifications were those by the renowned British ichthyologist C.T. Regan in 1929, the Soviet ichthyologist L.S. Berg in 1940, and French ichthyologists L. Bertin and Camille Arambourg in 1958. The three earlier systems from these authorities differ widely from one another in the scope of the order Clupeiformes, in the subdivisions of the order, and in the order of families. However, all three systems include many more groups than were considered related to the clupeid fishes by Greenwood and colleagues. The earlier classifications grouped a large number of fishes characterized by having soft—as opposed to spiny—fin rays together in one order with Clupeiformes, or Isopondyli.
Greenwood and his colleagues postulated, on the basis of a number of other features in both modern and fossil fishes, that this similarity is overridden by more-fundamental differences that indicate a long history of phyletic separation. The families Denticipitidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae, and Chirocentridae were separated by Regan, Berg, Bertin, and Arambourg into the distinct superorder Clupeomorpha. Clupeomorpha was then placed in Division I, one of the three subgroups of the bony fishes. The bony tongues, mormyrs, and relatives, treated by Bertin and Arambourg as suborders of the Clupeiformes, were placed by Greenwood and colleagues in the superorder Osteoglossomorpha, the sole group in Division II. The remaining fishes formerly included in the Clupeiformes—mainly made up of the salmons, trouts, pikes, and a number of deep-sea forms—were placed in order Salmoniformes, part of Division III.
Subsequent phylogenetic analyses of clupeiform fishes and lower teleosts confirm the limits of the order Clupeiformes—as set by Greenwood and his colleagues—and the order’s classification as primitive to the euteleost fishes, the most advanced of the higher fishes. Other developments occurred. The former subfamilies Pristigasterinae and Pelloninae were removed from the Clupeidae, and some recent classifications group these subfamilies into the family Pristigasteridae. In addition, characters from molecular sequence data and a reinterpretation of the similarities between the bony connection between the swim bladder and the inner ear of clupeiforms and ostariophysans led to the proposal that these two groups of lower teleosts are closely related and should be classified together as otocephalans.
