allis shad
Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
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.
Alosa alosa
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Open encyclopedia reference
The allis shad (Alosa alosa) is a widespread Northeast Atlantic species of fish in the Alosidae family. It is an anadromous fish which migrates into fresh water to spawn. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the western Baltic Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea. In appearance it resembles an Atlantic herring but has a distinctive dark spot behind the gill cover and sometimes a row of up to six spots behind this. It sometimes hybridises with the twait shad (A. fallax). This fish becomes mature when three or more years old and migrates to estuaries, later swimming up rivers to spawn. Populations of this fish have declined due to overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction. Conservation of this species is covered by Appendix III of the Bern Convention and Appendix II and V of the European Community Habitats Directive.
Wikipedia contributors, Allis shad; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:49:10.444701+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- allis 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 alosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
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 |
| 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 |
| Alosa vistonica Economidis & Sinis, 1986 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Alosa vulgaris (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Alausa vulgaris Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Alosa cuvieri Malm, 1877 Malm, 1877 | synonym |
| Alosa cuvierii Malm, 1877 Malm, 1877 | synonym |
| Clupea alosa Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Alosa alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Alosa communis Yarrell, 1836 Yarrell, 1836 | synonym |
| Alosa rusa Mauduyt, 1848 Mauduyt, 1848 | 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=126413 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:C5LK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.