Known eggs of Clupeidae spherical, with segmented yolk, no ornamented chorion. Larvae of families Engraulidae and Clupeidae characterized by slender, elongate bodies, long straight guts. Pigmentation as serially arranged melanophores along gut and on ventral mid-line between anus and caudal fin, and as melanistic shield over the gas bladder. In clupeid larvae (Sardinella brasiliensis, Sardinops ocellatus, Etrumeus whiteheadi) gut closer to caudal region than in Engraulidae (Engraulis anchoita, Engraulis capensis). In Clupeidae the posterior margin of the dorsal fin is separated from the anterior insertion of the anal fin by some myomeres. Identification to species level depends on subtle differences in pigmentation (McGowan and Berry, 1984), number of pre-anal myomeres, and relative position of dorsal and anal fins.
An identification key of clupeid larvae from the Eastern Tropical Atlantic was published by Conand (1978). For a comparative description of larvae of Clupeiformes species co-occurring in the SE Atlantic see Olivar and Fortuño (1991). Houde and Fore (1973) presented a guide to identification of eggs and larvae of some clupeid fishes from the Gulf of Mexico.
Table Clupeiformes
22 geographic zones