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Dorosoma cepedianum (Lesueur, 1818)

American gizzard shad
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Dorosoma cepedianum   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Dorosoma cepedianum (American gizzard shad)
Dorosoma cepedianum
Picture by Perusquía, E.


United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Eastern gizzard shad, Gizzard shad, Hickory shad
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011
Importance: minor commercial | Ref: FAO, 1994
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Known from Great lakes, Mississippi, Atlantic, and Gulf drainages from Vermont to central North Dakota, and south to southern Florida (Ref. 86798). Found in Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River estuary, Virginia, and New Jersey (Ref. 4639). Also Ref. 188, 10294, 27549, 93252.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Clupeiformes (Herrings) > Dorosomatidae (Gizzard shads and sardinellas)
Etymology: Dorosoma: Greek, doris = lance + Greek, soma = body (Ref. 45335);  cepedianum: Doro=lanceolate; soma=body (referring to the body shape of the young), and cepedianum, in honor of Bernard Germain Etienne de la Ville sur Ilion, Comte de La Cepede (1756-1825) (Ref. 79012).
  More on author: Lesueur.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 33 m (Ref. 39020).   Subtropical; ? - 32°C (Ref. 12741); 49°N - 21°N, 108°W - 70°W (Ref. 188)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Northwest Atlantic: North America and Gulf of Mexico drainage (southeast South Dakota and central Minnesota, Great Lakes drainage, i.e. in Lake Erie, southern parts of Lakes Huron and Michigan, Lake Ontario basin; not Lake Superior; southernmost New York southward to the Mississippi system and to Gulf southward to Río Pánuco, Mexico.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 36.1  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 57.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 35.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); max. published weight: 2.0 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 10 years (Ref. 72462)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 25 - 36; Vertebrae: 47 - 51. Body moderately deep; belly with 17 to 20 - 10 to 14 scutes. Mouth small; lower jaw short. Last dorsal fin ray long, about equal to distance from snout tip to mid-pectoral fin or beyond; anal fin long. Scales small, somewhat irregular. A dark spot behind gill opening. Gill rakers fine and numerous (Ref. 188). Branchiostegal rays 6 (Ref. 4639). Silvery to brassy, with a bluish back. Stomach thick-walled, gizzard-like (Ref. 7251).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits open water of medium to large rivers, lakes, and impoundments. Ascends creeks and small rivers with well-developed pools and enters brackish water (Ref. 86798). Occurs mainly in freshwater in large rivers, reservoirs, lakes, swamps, temporary floodwater pools, etc., but adults also found in brackish or saline water of estuaries or bays, preferring quieter open waters. Juveniles are found in great abundance well upstream from brackish water (Ref. 39041). Very young individuals apparently never enter brackish water (Ref. 38947). Larvae are most abundant in surface waters both day and night (Ref. 4639). A herbivorous filter-feeder almost entirely. Breed near the surface in freshwater from late winter (mid-March) through most of the summer (at least to about mid-August). The adhesive eggs sink. Used to some extent as fertilizer and cattle food (Ref. 188).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Temperature range for spawning: 10°C-28.9°C (Ref. 39042), usually most active above 18°C (Ref. 862, 3742).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Whitehead, P.J.P., 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/1):1-303. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 188)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 09 July 2018

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: usually
FAO(Fisheries: production; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
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Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
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Recruitments
Abundances
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
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Aquaculture profiles
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Stamps, coins, misc.
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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 12.8 - 26.8, mean 24 (based on 244 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5312   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00912 (0.00790 - 0.01053), b=3.04 (3.00 - 3.08), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.4   ±0.21 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2; tmax=6).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (30 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (49 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.