Alewife (fish)

For other uses of Alewife, see Alewife.
"Gaspereau" redirects here. For the community, see Gaspereau, Nova Scotia.

Alewife
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeiformes
Family: Alosidae
Genus: Alosa
Subgenus: Pomolobus
Species:
A. pseudoharengus
Binomial name
Alosa pseudoharengus
(A. Wilson, 1811)[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Clupea vernalis Mitchill, 1815
  • Clupea megalops Rafinesque, 1818
  • Clupea parvula Mitchill, 1814
  • Clupea pseudoharengus Wilson, 1811
  • Clupea virescens DeKay, 1842
  • Meletta venosa Valenciennes, 1847
  • Pomolobus pseudoharengus (Wilson, 1811)
School of alewife
Station of alewife

The alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus; pl.: alewives[4]) is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus Pomolobus of the genus Alosa.[5] As an adult it is a marine species found in the northern West Atlantic Ocean, moving into estuaries before swimming upstream to breed in freshwater habitats, but some populations live entirely in fresh water. It is best known for its invasion of the Great Lakes by using the Welland Canal to bypass Niagara Falls. Here, its population surged, peaking between the 1950s and 1980s to the detriment of many native species of fish. In an effort to control it biologically, Pacific salmon were introduced, only partially successfully. As a marine fish, the alewife is a US National Marine Fisheries Service "Species of Concern".

  1. ^ NatureServe (2013). "Alosa pseudoharengus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T201948A18235694. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T201948A18235694.en. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Alosa pseudoharengus". FishBase. February 2023 version.
  3. ^ "Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson, 1811)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  4. ^ "alewife". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
  5. ^ Faria, R.; Weiss, S.; Alexandrino, P. (July 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. PMID 16581269.