Gulf menhaden lengthy, and populations of Gulf menhaden throughout the Gulf of Mexico are generally thought to comprise a single genetic stock. The Gulf menhaden fishery is one of the largest in the United States. In 2013, the fishery supported four of the nation’s top ten ports by volume of landings. Gulf menhaden are harvested primarily for fish meal and fish oil based products. A much smaller number of menhaden are caught for use as bait. In addition to being one of the largest fisheries in the US, the Gulf menhaden fishery has also been recognized internationally for its sustainability. The fishery’s
Largest organisms namadicus" may have been the largest land mammal ever, based on extensive research of fragmentary leg bone fossils from one individual, with a maximum estimated size of 22 tonnes. The Permian era "Cotylorhynchus", from what is now the southern United States, probably was the largest of all synapsids (most of which became extinct 250 million years ago), at and 2 tonnes. The largest carnivorous synapsid was "Anteosaurus" from what is now South Africa during Middle Permian era. "Anteosaurus" was long, and weighed about . The largest living reptile, a representative of the order Crocodilia, is the saltwater crocodile ("Crocodylus porosus")