Shellfish are also a diverse group of
animals. They lack backbones and differ from
finfish in important ways, so they’re
described separately, p. 218.
The Herring Family:
Anchovy, Sardine,
Sprat, Shad
The herring family is an ancient, successful,
and highly productive one, and for centuries
was the animal food on which much of
northern Europe subsisted. Its various species
school throughout the world’s oceans in large,
easily netted numbers and are relatively
small, often just a few inches long but
sometimes reaching 16 in/40 cm and 1.5
lb/0.75 kg.
Members of the herring family feed by
constantly swimming and straining tiny
zooplankton from the seawater. They thus
have very active muscle and digestive