Bonga shad
Ethmalosa fimbriata (Bowdich, 1825)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Ethmalosa fimbriata syn. Clupea fimbriataThe species names / identity need verification - original names from plate are included here. The original plates showed the fishes facing right and have been flipped here. Clupea fimbriata
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Open encyclopedia reference
Ethmalosa fimbriata, the bonga shad or just bonga, is a shad-like ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Dorosomatidae, formerly considered to be in the family Clupeidae. This species occurs along the coasts and in brackish water of coastal lagoons, rivers and lakes of western Africa from Dakhla in Western Sahara to Lobito in Angola. It is usually around 25 cm long but the maximum length is 45 cm. It is the only member of its genus.
Wikipedia contributors, Ethmalosa; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:51:02.236057+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ethmalosa fimbriata (Bowdich, 1825)
- Name authority
- (Bowdich, 1825)
- Common name
- Bonga shad
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Clupeiformes
- Family
- Dorosomatidae
- Genus
- Ethmalosa
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderClupeiformes
- suborderClupeoidei Bleeker, 1859
- familyDorosomatidae Gill, 1861
- genusEthmalosa Regan, 1917
- speciesEthmalosa fimbriata (Bowdich, 1825)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Harengula forsteri Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Clupea setosa Steindachner, 1869 Steindachner, 1869 | synonym |
| Meletta senegalensis Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Alausa platycephalus Bleeker, 1863 Bleeker, 1863 | synonym |
| Clupea fimbriata Bowdich, 1825 Bowdich, 1825 | synonym |
| Ethmalosa dorsalis (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Clupea senegalensis (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Alausa dorsalis Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Clupea dorsalis (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=280725 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3BLBW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.