ABSTRACT
The family Clupeidae (sardines and herrings) contains at least 66 genera and 222 species worldwide (Nelson 1994) with several species supporting large commercial fisheries. Of the six subfamilies of the Clupeidae, four subfamilies (Dussumieriinae, Clupeinae, Pristigasterinae, and Spratelloidinae; primarily marine or estuarine) containing a total of 12 genera and 26 species are found in the western north Atlantic (Table Clupeidae 1). Two other subfamilies (Alosinae and Dorosomatinae) are predominantly anadromous and are not covered here. The recent FAO guide to adults treated the Pristigasterinae as a separate family (Munroe 2003, Munroe & Nizinski 2003).
