Bluestripe herring
Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus
- Usual depth0–8 m
- Water temperature19–30 °C
- Best monthsApril
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
About this species
Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus, also known as the bluestripe herring, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Dorosomatidae. It is widespread in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Other names for the species include goldspot sardine and fourspot herring. It can grow to a maximum standard length 25 cm (9.8 in), although its typical length is less than half of that.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus”, 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: 15 records
- February: 11 records
- March: 9 records
- April: 205 records
- May: 29 records
- June: 10 records
- July: 28 records
- August: 21 records
- September: 16 records
- October: 67 records
- November: 20 records
- December: 10 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–8 m · Deepest record: 32 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 19–30 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Pierre Pericard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tom and T Herman, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Bluestripe herring, Fourspot sardine, bluestripe herring, Fourspot Herring, fourspot sardine, gold spot herring, Goldspot herring, Gold-spot Herring, Goldspot Sardine, Murray Island Sardine, Oily Herring, Small-spotted Herring
Names in 5 more languages
- Spanish
- aranque banda azul
- French
- Hareng à bande bleue, Sardine à tache orange, Sardine queue blanc
- Japanese
- Mizun, ミジュン, ミズン
- Thai
- ปลากุแลสี่จุด
- Simplified Chinese
- 四點似青鱗魚, 四點青鱗, 扁仔, 藍帶似青鱗魚, 青鱗仔, 鰮仔
Other scientific names: Alausa schrammi, Alausa schrammii, Clupea dubia, Clupea fasciata, Clupea mauritiana, Clupea mizun, Clupea moluccensis, Clupea profundis, Clupea quadrimaculata, Clupea ranelayi, Clupea rechingeri, Clupea schrammi, Clupea stereolepis, Clupea torresiensis, Clupeonia fasciata, Harengula bipunctata, Harengula kunzei, Harengula moluccensis, Harengula punctata, Harengula schrammi, Harengula stereolepis, Herklostichthys quadrimaculatus, Herklotsich quadrimaculatus, Meletta obtusirostris, Meletta venenosa, Sardinella lineolata, Sardinella mizun
Similar species
Spotback herringHerklotsichthys punctatus
- blacksaddle herring
Herklotsichthys dispilonotus
Goldstripe sardinellaSardinella gibbosa
Spotted sardinellaAmblygaster sirm
Chacunda gizzard shadAnodontostoma chacunda
Deep HerringEscualosa thoracata
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).
- 1,410 open-data records from 1837 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 30, 2026.
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