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Rainbow sardine

Dussumieria acuta

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth3–108 m
  • Water temperature26–30 °C
  • Best monthsJanuary, March, and December
  • How commonRare
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About this species

The rainbow sardine, also known as common sprat, dwarf round herring, rainbow herring, and sharpnosed sprat, is a bony fish important to aquaculture and commercial fisheries.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 4 records
  • February: 0 records
  • March: 3 records
  • April: 2 records
  • May: 0 records
  • June: 1 records
  • July: 3 records
  • August: 1 records
  • September: 2 records
  • October: 3 records
  • November: 2 records
  • December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–108 m · Deepest record: 950 m

  • 0–10 m: 8 records
  • 10–20 m: 2 records
  • 20–30 m: 1 records
  • 30–40 m: 1 records
  • 40–50 m: 0 records
  • 50–60 m: 0 records
  • 60–70 m: 0 records
  • 70–80 m: 1 records
  • 80–90 m: 0 records
  • 90–100 m: 0 records
  • 100–110 m: 1 records
  • 110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 26–30 °C

  • 26–28 °C: 10 records
  • 28–30 °C: 41 records

Names and classification

English
Rainbow sardine, common sprat, Dwarf round herring, Hasselt's Sprat, rainbow herring, rainbow sardine, sharpnosed sprat
Names in 4 more languages
Spanish
Sardina arco iris
French
Sardine arc-en-ciel
Thai
ปลากุแลกล้วย
Simplified Chinese
尖吻圓腹鯡, 尖尾圓腹鯡, 臭肉鰮, 鰮仔

Other scientific names: Clupea flosmaris, Dussumiera acuta, Elops javanicus

Similar species

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).
  • 236 open-data records from 1847 to 2019.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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