Sardinella marquesensis Berry & Whitehead, 1968
Marquesan sardinella
photo by FAO

Family:  Dorosomatidae (Gizzard shads and sardinellas)
Max. size:  16 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  pelagic-neritic; marine; depth range 0 - 50 m
Distribution:  Eastern Pacific: endemic to the Marquesas Islands. Introduced into Hawaiian waters.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-21; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 12-23. Body slender; total scutes 28 to 30; lower gill rakers strongly increasing with size of fish, about 45 at 5 or 6 cm standard length, 50 to 80 (maximum) at 6 to 10 cm. Vertical striae on scales not meeting at center, no perforations on hind part of scale. No dark spot at dorsal fin origin, no dark tips to caudal fin. Can be separated from other species by a combination of above characters.
Biology:  Pelagic (Ref. 58302). Forms schools in coastal waters. Dominant species in beach seine hauls. Used as tuna bait (Ref. 6822). First reported case of clupeoid poisoning was in 1978 in the Hawaiian Is., probably caused by a planktonic dinoflagellate (Ref. 45133).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 02 March 2017 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  other
Country info:   
 


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