Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 447 



Habitat and Occurrence. Gizzard Shad Inhabit large rivers, reservoirs, lakes, 

 swamps, bays, barrow pits, estuaries, bayous, temporary floodwater pools along large 

 river courses, sloughs, and similar quiet, open waters that may be clear to very silty. 

 The very young apparently do not enter brackish water; in coastal rivers of Virginia 

 the young occur in greatest abundance well upstream. In Chesapeake Bay, Gizzard Shad 

 are common only during the fall months, occurring principally in brackish water near 

 the mouths of freshwater streams, but in the rivers of that region they are common 

 or abundant throughout the year. Along the Texas coast, they frequent the large 

 brackish-water bays where individuals may be taken throughout the year in waters 

 that vary in salinity from 2.0 to 33.7 "/oq. Thus Gizzard Shad in this area also prefer 

 brackish water to sea water. In general the smallest fish occur in the freshest water, 

 with size increasing as salinity increases. 



Dr. R. D. Suttkus of Tulane University has taken D. cepedianum at about 20 

 brackish and saltwater stations in Louisiana, not including nearly 40 separate captures 

 from Lake Pontchartrain. Most of the 20 records are from along the Gulf of Mexico 

 coast or within embayments connected with the Gulf. I am grateful to Dr. Suttkus for 

 these data. 



Range. Atlantic drainage of eastern North America south to Rio Panuco, 

 Mexico. 



Synonyms and References: 



Megalops cepediana LeSueur, J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., I, 1818: 361 (orig. descr.; markets of Baltimore and 

 Philadelphia, hence usually given as Chesapeake and Delaware bays). 



Clupea heterura Rafinesque, Amer. Month. Mag., 1818: 354 (orig. descr.; Ohio River). 



Dorosoma notata Rafinesque, West. Rev. Misc. Mag., 2 (3), 1820: 172 (orig. descr.; type local., falls of 

 OMo R.). 



Chatossus ellipticus Kirtland, Rep. Zool. Ohio in Second Rep. geol. Surv. Ohio, Columbus, 1838: 169, 195 

 (nomen nudum, Ohio; same as D.notatd)\ Boston J. nat. Hist., ^(2), 1842: 235, pi. 10, fig. i (orig. 

 descr.; compar., occur, in Ohio, habits, mortal., Ohio R. and tributaries). 



Megalops bimaculata LeSueur in Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. nat. Poiss., 21, 1848: 104 (nomen nudum, 

 synon. with Chatoessus cepedianus by Valenciennes). 



Chatoessus insociabilis Abbott, Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad. (i860), 12, 1861 : 365 (orig. descr.; habits, "sturgeon 

 pond 2 miles below Trenton, New Jersey"). 



Chatoessus cepediana Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., 7, 1868: 409 (descr., based on specimens from New 

 York). 



Dorosoma cepedianum exile Jordan and Gilbert, Proc. U.S. nat. Mus. (1882), 5, 1883: 585 (orig. descr.; Gal- 

 veston Bay, Texas). 



Dorosoma cepedianum Goode, et al.. Fish. Fish. Industr. U.S., i, 1884: 610 (in brackish or sea water, Atlantic 

 coast); Higgins and Pearson, Rep. U.S. Comm. Fish. (1927), 1928: 42 (Pamlico Sound, N. Carolina); 

 Hildebrand and Schroeder, Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish. (1927), ^J, 1928: 106 (Chesapeake Bay, rare in strictly 

 salt water); Fowler, Monogr. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 7, 1945 : 165 (Cape I. and rice field near Cordesville, 

 S. Carolina); Gunter, Publ. Inst. mar. Sci. Texas, I (i), 1945: 30 (brackish and salt water, Texas coast; 

 prefers brackish to sea water); Massmann, Trans. i8th N. Amer. Wildl. Conf , 1953: 439 (young in 

 Virginia estuaries); Bailey, Winn, and Smith, Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 106, 1954: 120 (common in 

 fresh tidewater, Escambia R., Florida); Miller, Fish. Bull. (173) U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., 60, i960 (review 

 of systematics and biol.); Minckley and Krumholz, Zoologica, N.Y., 44, i960 (hybrid, with D. 

 petenense). 



Dorosoma exile Meek, Field Mus. Publ., Zool., 5, 1904: 94 (descr., lowland tributaries of Gulf of Mexico 

 N. of Veracruz, Mexico, San Juan, Forl6n, Valles). 



