Herring

forage fish, mostly belonging to the family Clupeidae

A herring is a small teleost fish of the genus Clupea. Best-known of this family is probably the Atlantic herring. There are 15 different species of herring. When herrings migrate in the water they usually do this in large numbers; this is then called a school of herring. Like other fish, they do this for protection: see shoaling and schooling.

Herring
Atlantic Herring
Scientific classification
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Clupea

Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Clupea harengus
Clupea harengus
Pickled herring to eat.

Herrings can be eaten. They are often smoked or pickled.

A red herring is used to describe a plot device in mystery fiction that leads the reader to a wrong solution.