The round sardinella (''Sardinella aurita'') is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

in the genus ''

Sardinella ''Sardinella'' is a genus of fish in the family Clupeidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. They are abundant in warmer waters of the tropical and subtropical oceans. Adults are generally coastal, schooling, marine fish but juveni ...

'' found in both sides of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. ''S. aurita'' went through a large boom in catch population around 1990. However, its numbers have been very stable through the last several years. ''S. aurita'' inhabits warm waters. It is a small, pelagic species that lives in tropical and subtropical waters of the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean, and occasionally, the Black Sea. The gonads start to develop in April and are fully mature one month later. Plankton in spawning regions are full of eggs and larvae from the end of June into September.

Diagnostic features

''Sardinella aurita'' has a particularly elongated body, a relatively rounded belly, and a large number of fine gill rakers (up to 160). This is one of the largest ''Sardinella'' species, averaging 23 to 28 cm. It has eight pelvic fin rays. It has frontoparietal stripes on the top of its head, a faint golden midlateral line, and a distinctive black spot on the hind border of the gill cover. It is often caught along with ''

Sardinella longiceps Indian oil sardine The Indian oil sardine (''Sardinella longiceps'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Sardinella''. It is one of the two most important commercial fishes in India (with the mackerel Mackerel is a common name a ...

'', and the two are not easily distinguished.

Habitat

The fish prefer shallower waters around 24 °C. It reaches depths of 350 m. It is a schooling fish that feeds on

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. ...

and

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

such as

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have ...

Fisheries

Fisheries for this species exist off the West African coast, in the Mediterranean Sea, and along the coasts of Venezuela and Brazil. Fishery numbers in 1983 totaled 1,983,000 tons.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2574425 round sardinella Commercial fish Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish of the Caribbean Fish of Venezuela Fish of Brazil Marine fauna of West Africa round sardinella