Sardinella aurita
Spanish Sardine
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Clupeidae (Herrings)
Sardinella
Sardinella aurita (Spanish Sardine)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Body depth is 21% to 27% and head length is 22% to 27% of SL. Symphysis of upper jaw is not notched. Maxilla extends to about anterior margin of pupil. Teeth are absent in upper jaw, but several are present in lower jaw. Gill rakers of upper limb do not overlap those of lower limb of first arch. Gill rakers of lower limb of first arch increase with growth and number between 70 and 145 in adults. Gill rakers on lower limb of second and third arches are more or less flat. Vertical anterior edge of shoulder girdle possesses bilobed dermal fold. Pectoral fin has 15 to 16 rays. Dorsal fin originates closer to tip of snout than to base of caudal fin, has slightly concave dorsal margin, and has 17 to 19 rays, the last of which is not produced. Pelvic fin inserts under base of dorsal fin, closer to tip of snout than to base of caudal fin, and has 9 rays. Anal fin has 16 to 20 rays, and last two are distinctly produced. Scales are deciduous and in 41 to 46 transverse rows. Scales along dorsal midline anterior to dorsal fin are normal. Belly has 32 to 34 scutes with ascending arms. Vertebrae number 45 to 47.
Color is bluish gray to greenish dorsally and bright silver to brassy laterally and ventrally. Spots and streaks on side are absent.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from Cape Cod to Argentina, including Bermuda, the entire Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles.
Entire Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Coastal pelagic species but ranges over the entire continental shelf
Biology
Food consists of zooplankton, especially copepods, and to some extent phytoplankton.
Maximum known size is 380 mm TL.
Spawning occurs throughout the year in the Gulf of Mexico.
A coastal, pelagic, species preferring clear saline waters, usually with maximum temperatures below 24°C (Ref. 27121). Found inshore and near surface to edge of shelf and down to 350m, or perhaps even deeper; schooling and strongly migratory, often rising to surface at night and dispersing (Ref. 188, 6683). It is a cold water species, temperatures between 18-25°C, approaching the coast and shoaling near the surface in the period of upwelling, but retreating below the thermocline in the hot season, down to depths of 200 to 300m (Ref. 2945, 3259). It feeds mainly on zooplankton, especially copepods and larvae of mysids, but also some phytoplankton, especially by juveniles (Ref. 188, 27121, 86940). It breeds perhaps at all times of the year, but with distinct peaks; the breeding pattern is extremely complex, with two principal spawning periods in some areas (Ref. 188). There is no spawning in Black Sea (Ref. 6683). The juveniles tend to stay in nursery areas, but on maturity rejoin adult stocks in the colder offshore waters (Ref. 188). Trematode found in intestinal tract (Ref. 37032).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-23. Resilience: High (K=0.25-1.2; tm=1; tmax=7).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from the other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: highly commercial.
References
Hildebrand 1963d
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Hoese and Moore 1977 (as Sardinella anchovia)
Jones et al. 1978b
Castro-Aguirre and Marquez-Espinoza 1981
Whitehead 1985
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Wilson and Alberdi 1991
Tringali and Wilson 1993
Ditty et al. 1994
Whitehead, P.J.P. (1985) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/1):1-303. Rome: FAO.
Pham, T. and J. Szypula (1975) Age and growth rate of gilt sardine (Sardinella aurita Cuv. & Val.) from North East African waters. ICES CM 1975/J:5. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Copenhagen.
Gómez-Canchong, P., L. Manjarrés M., L.O. Duarte and J. Altamar (2004) Atlas pesquero del area norte del Mar Caribe de Colombia. Universidad del Magadalena, Santa Marta. 230 p.
Gourène, G. and G.G. Teugels (2003) Clupeidae. p. 125-142. In D. Paugy, C. Lévêque and G.G Teugels (eds.) The fresh and brackish water fishes of West Africa Volume 1. Coll. faune et flore tropicales 40. Institut de recherche de développement, Paris, France, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, France and Musée royal de l'Afrique Central, Tervuren, Belgium, 457p.
Teugels, G.G. (2007) Clupeidae. p. 186-204. In M.L.J. Stiassny, G.G. Teugels and C.D. Hopkins (eds.) The fresh and brackish water fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume I. Collection Faune et Flore tropicales 42. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, and Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium. 800 pp.
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