Family : Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens)
Order : Clupeiformes  (herrings)
Class : Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Fishbase Name : Spotted sardinella
Fish Name : Amblygaster sirm
Max size : 27.0 cm SL (male/unsexed; Ref. 54980); max. reported age: 8 years
Environment : reef-associated ; depth range 10 - 75 m
Climate : tropical; 35°N - 28°S
Global Importance : fisheries: commercial; bait: usually
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.37-3.74; tm=1; tmax=8; Fec > 10,000)Distribution : Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and Mozambique to the Philippines, north to Taiwan and Okinawa (Japan), south to New Guinea, the Arafura Sea (Ref. 9819), northern Australia, and Fiji.
Diagnosis : Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-21; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 12-23. Scutes not prominent. Distinguished from A. clupeoides and A. leiogaster by the presence of a series of 10 to 20 gold (in life) or black (on preservation) spots down the flank (but sometimes missing) and more lower gill rakers; from Sardinops species by the absence of a bony radiating striae on its operculum; from Sardinella species by its fewer pelvic fin rays and lower gill rakers.
Biology : Pelagic (Ref. 53568). A schooling species occurring in coastal waters and lagoons. In Panggang Island, Indonesia it was recorded in temperatures of 28.5-29.8°C and salinities of 31.6-32.3 ppt (Ref. 823). Feeds mainly on copepods, nauplii and zoea larvae, larval bivalves and gastropods, as well as Peridinium and Ceratium. Used as bait in the tuna fishery
Threatened : Dangerous:  
Dangerous : harmless
Coordinator :
Main Ref : Whitehead, P.J.P.. 1985. (Ref. 188)

India country information
Common Names : புள்ளி கவளை, புள்ளீ காவாளை , கீரிமீன் சாளை, கீரீமீன் சாளை , Keerimeen chalai, Keerimeen-chalai, Pulli-kavalai, Spotted sardinella
Status : native
Salinity : brackish, marine
Uses : no uses