Chinese gizzard shad

Clupanodon thrissa

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–22 m
Water temperature10–26 °C
Best monthsFebruary, August, and November
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Biodiversity Heritage Library, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Clupanodon thrissa, the Chinese gizzard shad, is a species of gizzard shad from the Northwest Pacific, occurring from Korea to Thailand and possibly the Philippines. It is the only extant species currently recognized in its genus. A second, fossil species, †Clupanodon tanegashimaensis (Saheki, 1929) is known from the Pleistocene of Japan.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Clupanodon”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 1 records
February: 3 records
March: 1 records
April: 0 records
May: 2 records
June: 2 records
July: 1 records
August: 3 records
September: 2 records
October: 3 records
November: 5 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–22 m · Deepest record: 22 m

0–10 m: 16 records
10–20 m: 8 records
20–30 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–26 °C

10–12 °C: 5 records
12–14 °C: 8 records
14–16 °C: 2 records
16–18 °C: 8 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 3 records

Names and classification

English: Chinese gizzard shad, Variegated Gizzard Shad

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: alosa chata
French: alose à museau court
Korean: 조선전어
Simplified Chinese: 多斑鰶, 海鯽仔, 盾齒鰶, 花鰶, 銀耀鱗, 銀鱗水滑

Other scientific names: Chatoessus haihoensis, Chatoessus maculatus, Chatoessus osbeckii, Chatoessus triza, Clupanodon haihoensis, Clupea thrissa, Clupea triza, Dorosoma thrissa

Similar species

Goldstripe sardinella
Sardinella gibbosa
Spotted sardinella
Amblygaster sirm
Chacunda gizzard shad
Anodontostoma chacunda
Deep Herring
Escualosa thoracata
Bluestripe herring
Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus
Kelee shad
Hilsa kelee

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
39 open-data records from 1758 to 2020.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist