Skipjack shad put into place in the northernmost reaches of its distribution. While the skipjack shad has been attributed to the subgenus "Potomolobius" of the genus "Alosa" along with other North American shad species, it has been found to be phylogenetically the most basal of the "Alosa" species, which are also found in Europe and Western Asia. Skipjack shad The skipjack shad ("Alosa chrysochloris") is a North American, migratory, fresh- and brackish water fish species in the herring family Clupeidae. The name skipjack shad comes from the fact that it is commonly seen leaping out of the water while feeding. Other common
Herring juvenile herring could never catch a large copepod. Other pelagic prey eaten by herring includes fish eggs, larval snails, diatoms by herring larvae below , tintinnids by larvae below , molluscan larvae, menhaden larvae, krill, mysids, smaller fishes, pteropods, annelids, "Calanus" spp., Centropagidae, and "Meganyctiphanes norvegica". Herrings, along with Atlantic cod and sprat, are the most important commercial species to humans in the Baltic Sea. The analysis of the stomach contents of these fish indicate Atlantic cod is the top predator, preying on the herring and sprat. Sprat are competitive with herring for the same food resources. This is evident