''Sardinella brasiliensis'', (Brazilian sardinella or orangespot sardine) is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

in the genus ''

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

''. ''S. brasilensis'' are extremely hard to distinguish from ''

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

'' and are combined in most studies and catch estimates. They

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...

in coastal areas during late spring and summer. The most dense spawning periods are in December and January. From 1973 to 1990 the catch in Venezuela was down from 228000 tons to 31000 tons. These fish are present in the Western Atlantic (including the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, West Indies all the way down to Brazil

Distinguishing features

The standard length of these sardinella is around 20 cm. ''S. brasiliensis'' is similar to their close relative ''S. aurita'' but ''S. brasiliensis'' have two peak spawning seasons. It is important to differentiate this species from ''S. aurita''. Some of the features that make them unique include the anterior gillrakers (see

List of ichthyology terms This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

) which are curled down on the lower limbs of the second and third gill arches. They both have 8 rays on the pelvic fin and have 2 fleshy appendages along the outer margin of the gill opening with many scale stripes (striae) on the top of the head.

Monitoring corruption in retail

It is common for retailers to substitute ''Sardinella brasilensis'' and closely related species for anchovies in commercial markets. In order to combat this false advertising scientists are developing an efficient method of testing mitochondrial DNA of these fish using the

Polymerase Chain Reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA (or a part of it) sufficiently to enable detailed st ...

. The inaccurate representation of packaged fish is a potential safety hazard to consumers.

Footnotes

brasiliensis Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Fish described in 1879 {{Clupeiformes-stub