Food and feeding habits of Ilisha africana (Bloch) (Pisces: Clupeidae) off the Lagos coast, Nigeria

A total of 2215 specimens of Ilisha africana (Bloch) were examined for the food habits of the species off the Lagos coast, Nigeria. Their food consisted mainly of crustaceans, fish and molluscs; less important in the stomach contents were insects, annelids, chaetognaths, coelenterates, urochordates and phytoplankton. The incidence of nematodes in the stomachs was low. Monthly variation of food as well as variation with fish size and water depth were examined, as was the relationship of food composition to components of the plankton fauna. Feeding habits of I. africana were compared with those Sardinella maderensis (Lowe), Galeoides decadatylus (Bloch), Brachydeuterus auritus (Val.) and Vomer setapinnis (Mitchill); there was an overall diversity in the diets of these fish species.