| Round Sardinella | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Clupeiformes |
| Family: | Clupeidae |
| Genus: | Sardinella |
| Species: | S. aurita |
| Binomial name | |
| Sardinella aurita Valenciennes, 1847 |
|
Round Sardinella (Sardinella aurita) is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Sardinella. It is found in both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. [1]
Sardinella aurita went through a large boom in catch population around 1990. However, S. aurita numbers had been very stable through the last several years. They averaged between 1.3 tonnes per trip over the last four years. [2] S. aurita prefer warm waters and are small pelagic species that live in tropical and subtropical waters of the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Paciļ¬c 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 larva from the end of June into September. [3]
Diagnostic Features
Sardinella aurita have a particularly elongate body, they also have a relatively rounded belly, and a large number of fine gill rakers (up to 160). These are some of the largest fish in the Sardinella genus and can average 23-28cm. These are part of a small group of Sardinella with 8 pelvic fin rays. They have fronto-parietal stripes on the tops of their heads and a faint golden midlateral line. They also have a distinctive black spot on the hind border of the gill cover. These fish are often caught in the same areas as Sardinella longiceps and catch numbers are oftentimes undistinguished. [1]
Habitat
These fish prefer shallower waters and seek an environment of 24 Celsius. They may travel as deep as 350m. They are very migratory schooling fish that feed on zooplankton, copepods along with phytoplankton. Populations occur in the Eastern Atlantic and sometimes in the Black sea. Populations also occur along the East African coast all the way to South Africa and in the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod to Argentina.[1]
Fisheries
There are major fisheries off of the West Africa coast, in the Mediterranean Sea, and along the coasts of Venezuela and Brazil. Fishery numbers in 1983 totaled 1,983,000 tons. [1]