Dorosomatidae, Gill, 1861

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 69

Family Dorosomatidae

Gizzard shads

A large family of about 115 species in 30 genera. They are mostly tropical and subtropical shads, many of them found in coastal waters, entering freshwaters during parts of their life, or even being pure freshwater species such as African Congothrissa , Limnothrissa , and Sierrathrissa . Many species are of high commercial value, especially for artisanal fisheries. Two genera, Nematalosa and Tenualosa , both with a wide distribution range in the Indian Ocean, enter freshwaters in West Asia. Nematalosa nasus and Tenualosa ilisha are reported from the lower parts of the Shatt al Arab/Arvand. Only T. ilisha regularly enters freshwater habitats, while N. nasus is restricted to brackish waters. Both species are included in the identification key of Clupeiformes above.

Tenualosa comprises five species distributed in the subtropical and tropical Indo-Pacific. All species are

Nematalosa nasus ; Basra, Iraq, ~ 150 mm SL. © A. Ali.