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Clupeiformes (Herrings) >
Dorosomatidae (Gizzard shads and sardinellas)
Etymology: Potamothrissa: Greek, potamos = river + Greek, thrissa, -es = shad (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Peter James Palmer Whitehead (1930–1992) was a British biologist (BMNH), scholar, historian, and artist as well as a clupeoid specialist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Poll.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical; 2°S - 5°S
Africa: Hombo River, tributary of Lowa River, and Lindi/Tshopo River, Congo River basin, in Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 188, 28136, 93833, 122734).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 19 - 22; Vertebrae: 42. Diagnosis: Body slender, its depth 22-25% of standard length; pre-pelvic scutes not strongly keeled, beginning under or behind base of last pectoral finray, 8-10 pre-pelvic and 6-9 post-pelvic scutes, belly rounded; snout bluntly rounded; lower jaw not projecting, exactly meeting tip of upper jaw when mouth closed, deepest at mid-point of jaw, with small saw-like teeth on each side; pre-maxillae with small teeth pointing downward; maxilla very slender, its blade over 3 times as long as deep, upper edge ridged, lower edge without denticulations; posterior supra-maxilla minute, virtually without anterior shaft; lower gillrakers 14-17; silver stripe along flank, narrower anteriorly (Ref. 188, 28136). The presence of small horny denticles on snout and edges of mouth on the skin of the maxillary is typical for this species (Ref. 188, 93833). It closely resembles Potamothrissa obtusirostris, which lacks dermal denticles on the snout and has more post-pelvic scutes, 9-12 vs. 6-9; Potamothrissa acutirostris has a pointed snout and more gillrakers, 16-18 vs. 14-17 (Ref. 188, 28136). Other pellonulines lack saw-like teeth at the sides of the lower jaw (Ref. 188).
It is a riverine species (Ref. 188).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
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: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00871 (0.00415 - 0.01826), b=3.06 (2.89 - 3.23), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.1 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
![Image of Potamothrissa whiteheadi (Whitehead\](/images/thumbnails/gif/tn_Powhi_u0.gif "Image of Potamothrissa whiteheadi (Whitehead\")
