American shad
Alosa sapidissima (Wilson, 1811)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
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, 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.
The American shad has been described as "the fish that fed the (American) nation's founders". Adult shad weigh between 1.5 and 3.5 kg (3 and 8 lb), and they have a delicate flavor when cooked. It is considered flavorful enough not to 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.
The name "shad" derives from the Old English sceadd, meaning "herring"; it is a cognate to Irish, Welsh, and Scottish Gaelic words for herring.
Wikipedia contributors, American shad; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:32:23.846512+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Alosa sapidissima (Wilson, 1811)
- Name authority
- (Wilson, 1811)
- Common name
- American shad
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Clupeiformes
- Family
- Alosidae
- Genus
- Alosa
- 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
- familyAlosidae Svetovidov, 1952
- genusAlosa Linck, 1790
- speciesAlosa sapidissima (Wilson, 1811)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Alosa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black Sea shadAlosa maeotica (Grimm, 1901) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blueback herringAlosa aestivalis (Mitchill, 1814) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alosa agone (Scopoli, 1786) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| allis shadAlosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alosa braschnikowi (Borodin, 1904) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Caspian shadAlosa caspia (Eichwald, 1838) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| skipjack herringAlosa chrysochloris (Rafinesque, 1820) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alosa curensis (Suvorov, 1907) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| shadAlosa fallax (Lacepède, 1803) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| ale-wifeAlosa pseudoharengus (Wilson, 1811) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alosa sphaerocephala (Berg, 1913) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Alosa suworowi (Berg, 1913) | AlosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Clupea sapidissima Wilson, 1811 Wilson, 1811 | synonym |
| Alosa praestabilis DeKay, 1842 DeKay, 1842 | synonym |
| Clupea indigena Mitchill, 1814 Mitchill, 1814 | 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=158670 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:65WJV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.