A distinct dusky spot is located behind their upper gill cover, followed by a varying number of smaller spots arranged in irregular rows.
Atlantic menhaden have a laterally compressed body.
Their large head has a mouth that gapes as far back as the rear edge of their eyes. These fish have a deeply forked tail fin and, like other members of the herring family, have only one dorsal and one anal fin. Overall body length is about three times their depth. Atlantic menhaden travel in large schools of equal size fish. They tend to swim near the surface and often congregate in locales with extensive estuarine systems.