The Indian oil sardine is a small, schooling fish found in coastal waters of the northern Indian Ocean. It reaches up to 23 cm long and feeds mainly on phytoplankton and small crustaceans. The species forms large schools and migrates along coastal areas, spawning during the monsoon months from August to September when temperatures are lower. It is an important commercial fishery throughout its range.

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Sardinella longiceps Valenciennes, 1847
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Sardinella longiceps
Picture by Randall, J.E.
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Sardinella longiceps AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Classification / Names
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Clupeiformes (Herrings) > Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens)
Etymology: Sardinella: Latin and Greek, sarda = sardine; name related to the island of Sardinia; diminutive (Ref.
45335). More on author: Valenciennes.
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL
Main reference
Whitehead, P.J.P. 1985. (Ref. 188)
References | Coordinator | Collaborators
Size / Weight / Age
Max length : 23.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188); common length : 20.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188); max. published
weight: 200 g (Ref. 4883); max. reported age: 3 years (Ref. 3689)
Length at first maturity
Lm 16.3 range ? - ? cm
Environment
Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 20 - 200 m (Ref. 28016)
Climate / Range
Tropical; 25°N - 7°N, 57°E - 81°E (Ref. 54872)
Distribution
Indian Ocean: northern and western parts only, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, but apparently not Red Sea or the Persian Gulf,
eastward to southern part of India, on eastern coast to Andhra; possibly to the Andaman Islands. Thus, studies pertaining to this
species from the Philippines or Indonesia probably refer to Sardinella lemuru.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions
Short description
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-21; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 23; Vertebrae: 45 - 49. Body sub-
cylindrical; a faint golden spot behind gill opening, followed by a faint golden mid-lateral line; a distinct black spot at hind border
of gill cover (absence of pigment). Distinguished from all clupeids in the northern Indian Ocean by its pelvic fin ray count of i 8;
from S. neglecta and S. lemuru by its longer head and more lower gill rakers. No prominent keel. See also Refs. 3683, 818
and 393 .
Biology Glossary Search (e.g. epibenthic)
Forms schools in coastal waters and strongly migratory. Feeds mainly on phytoplankton (especially diatoms) and small
crustaceans (Ref. 30573). Breeds once a year off western coasts of India when temperatures and salinity are low during the
southwest monsoon months. Spawning peaks in August-September. Occurs at temperatures of 22.0-28.0 °C (Ref. 3689).
Marketed fresh, dried and dried-salted. Also sold smoked and canned (Ref. 9987). Also made into fish meal and fish balls.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363) Threat to humans
Least Concern (LC) Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
FAO(fisheries: production) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us |
More information
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FAO areas Synonyms Growth Aquaculture Pictures
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2. Ecosystems Metabolism Length-weight Aquaculture profile Stamps and coins
Occurrences Predators Length-length Strains Sounds
Introductions Ecotoxicology Length-frequencies Genetics Ciguatera
Stocks Reproduction Morphometrics Allele frequencies Speed
Ecology Maturity Morphology Heritability Swim. type
Diet Spawning Larvae Diseases Gill area
Food items Fecundity Larval dynamics Processing Otoliths
Food consumption Eggs Recruitment Mass conversion Brains
Ration Egg development Abundance Vision
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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos
Internet sources
BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(fisheries: species profile;
publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World
Record | iSpecies | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater
Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace
Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
2.4 s.e. 0.22 Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278)
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.5-1.4; tm=2; tmax=3)
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153) Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low to moderate vulnerability (30 of 100) Low
Entered by Binohlan, Crispina B. Modified by Kesner-Reyes, Kathleen
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