Watercolor of an American shad by Sherman F. Denton, 1904: The swelling between the anal fin and ventral fin identifies this as a gravid female.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Clupeiformes
Family:
Alosidae
Genus:
Alosa
Species:
A. sapidissima
Binomial name
Alosa sapidissima
(A. Wilson, 1811)
Synonyms
Clupea sapidissima
The American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida,[2] and as an introduced species on the North Pacific coast. The American shad is not closely related to the other North American shads. Rather, it seems to form a lineage that diverged from a common ancestor of the European taxa before these diversified.[3]
The American shad has been described as "the fish that fed the (American) nation's founders".[4][5] Adult shad weigh between 1.5 and 3.5 kg (3 and 8 lb), and they have a delicate flavor when cooked.[6] It is considered flavorful enough to not require sauces, herbs, or spices. It can be boiled, filleted and fried in butter, or baked. Traditionally, a little vinegar is sprinkled over it on the plate. In the Eastern United States, roe shads (females) are prized because the eggs are considered a delicacy.[7]
The name "shad" derives from the Old English sceadd, meaning "herring"; it is a cognate to Irish, Welsh, and Scottish Gaelic words for herring.[8]
^NatureServe.; Daniels, A. (2019). "Alosa sapidissima". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T191206A82664336. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T191206A82664336.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference FB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Faria, R.; Weiss, S. & Alexandrino, P. (2006): A molecular phylogenetic perspective on the evolutionary history of Alosa spp. (Clupeidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40(1): 298–304. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.02.008
^Cite error: The named reference wheeler2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Boyle, Robert H. (8 December 2002). "A Sense of Where They Are". The New York Times.
^"Grass Shad-another Fine Bait- Southeastern King Mackerel Club – King Mackerel Fishing in Southeastern North Carolina." Southeastern King Mackerel Club – King Mackerel Fishing in Southeastern North Carolina-. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <http://southeasternkingmackerelclub.com/grass-shad-another-fine-bait/ Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine>.
^Cite error: The named reference RedOrbit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Shad. Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
The Americanshad (Alosa sapidissima) is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic...
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Shad is a type of fish, much valued as a sport fish. The male shad is an excellent game fish, showing multiple jumps and an occasional end-over-end; it...
chrysochloris) is a North American, migratory, fresh- and brackish water fish species in the herring family Alosidae. The name skipjack shad comes from the fact...
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hickory shad can be distinguished from Americanshad by its lower jaw, which will project beyond the snout in the hickory shad. Hickory shad range from...
River in the United States. It serves as a major migration path for AmericanShad and waterfowl. A visitor's center is located at New Hope and the park...
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foreign to the Columbia—accounted for the great silvery flood: the Americanshad. AmericanShad made their way to the Columbia after 1871 when Seth Green planted...
particular, two species were under threat, the Dwarf Wedge Mussel and the AmericanShad. The Neversink River contains a large population of sea mussels and...
family Clupeidae. The Shad Foundation Shad Planking, a Virginia political gathering featuring the consumption of Americanshad Biodiversity, Status, and...
hybridization may be a factor in shad phylogeny. Nonetheless, some trends are emerging. The North American species except the Americanshad A. sapidissima can probably...
particularly Pacific sanddab Sardine Sea bass Sea bream Shad (see also alewife and Americanshad) Shark Skate Smelt Snakehead Snapper (see also rockfish...
anadromous clupeids from the Atlantic coast, the hickory shad (Alosa mediocris) and the Americanshad (A. sapidissima). It can be distinguished from skipjack...
Southeastern United States. Like the American gizzard shad, the threadfin shad has an elongated dorsal fin, but unlike the gizzard shad, its mouth is more terminal...
herring, blueback shad, or summer shad (Alosa aestivalis) is an anadromous species of herring from the east coast of North America, with a range from...
in Maryland were found to subsist largely on American gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) and white bass (Morone chrysops)...
Cryme Tyme was an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of JTG and Shad Gaspard, best known for their tenure in WWE. The team was an over-the-top...
decades, the river's population of Americanshad is currently re-bounding as a result of the ICPRB's successful "AmericanShad Restoration Project" that was...
improved. One example of this is the reintroduction of AmericanShad into the Charles. AmericanShad used to be one of the most common species in the river...
Shahid Rafiq "Shad" Khan (Urdu: شاہد خان; born July 18, 1950) is a Pakistani-American billionaire businessman and sports tycoon. He is the owner of Flex-N-Gate...
On February 23, 2022, Shad Thyrion, a 24-year-old American man, was murdered and dismembered by his lover, Taylor Schabusiness. Thyrion's severed head...
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For example, research from the 1980s showed almost one quarter of the Americanshad passing through were killed. The station operated 34 years, mostly with...
SHAD, an acronym for Shipboard Hazard and Defense, was part of a larger effort called Project 112, which was conducted during the 1960s. Project SHAD...
Global Information
