Dorosomatidae Gill 1861

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 19

Family Dorosomatidae Gill 1861 ( Fig. 2L ). Thread Herrings, Gizzard Shads, Sardinellas; Sardinas, Arenques, Sabaletes

Description: Body slightly elongate, fusiform, oval in cross-section; usually up to 20 cm in length; mouth usually inferior, short, ending before eye; upper jaw with a distinct median notch or cleft lower jaw flared outward; teeth absent; abdominal scutes strong; last dorsal-fin ray filamentous in most taxa; anal fin usually with 12–29, up to 38 in some taxa; usually silvery in color ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Marine or freshwater; North and Central America, Indo-West Pacific Ocean ( Nelson et al. 2016). Four genera and five species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 1; Carcharhinidae (A), Pristidae (B), Dasyatidae (C), Potamotrygonidae (D), Lepisosteidae (E), Elopidae (F), Megalopidae (G), Ophichthidae (H), Anguillidae (I), Engraulidae (J), Pristigasteridae (K), Dorosomatidae (L) and Cyprinidae (M). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).