Tenualosa toli (Valenciennes, 1847)
Toli shad
Tenualosa toli
photo by Randall, J.E.

Family:  Dorosomatidae (Gizzard shads and sardinellas)
Max. size:  60 cm TL (male/unsexed); max. reported age: 2 years
Environment:  pelagic-neritic; freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range - 10 m, anadromous
Distribution:  Indo-West Pacific: India to the Java Sea and the South China Sea. Newly recorded from Mauritius (Ref. 33390). May be found in Cambodian Mekong near the Viet Nam border (Ref. 12693).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0. Belly with 28 to 30 scutes. A distinct median notch in upper jaw, which distinguishes it from other similar clupeids, except Hilsa kelee. Gill rakers fine but not numerous, 60 to 100 on lower part of arch. Caudal fin short. At most, a dark diffuse mark behind gill opening, but no other spots on flank.
Biology:  Inhabits fast-flowing, turbid estuaries and adjacent coastal waters (Ref. 26929). Schooling in coastal waters, euryhaline and perhaps anadromous, ascending rivers to breed (but in some areas fishery workers claim that it does not). A protandrous hermaphrodite (Ref. 55367). Presumably its biology is similar to that of T. ilisha, but the fewer gill rakers suggest that it takes larger food organisms. Reported to feed on zooplankton (Ref. 58784). More data needed especially since it is not always distinguished from T. ilisha, especially at juvenile stages. Marketed fresh or dried-salted.
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 06 March 2018 (B2ab(iii,v)) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:   
 


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