Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula D, 12-13; A, 3-11; P, 11-13; V, 8  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated, slightly compressed. Belly round and smooth without series of scutes. Dorsal fin origin before midpoint. W-shaped scute at the base of the pelvic fins. Relatively large scales easily detached with continuous vertical striae across them. color : back blueish-grey with grey to silvery flanks. size : 4 - 6 cm (max. 8 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Etrumeus teres: pelvic fin origin behind end of dorsal fin base; presence of adipose eyelid. Dussumieria elopsoides: dorsal fin origin behind midpoint. Other clupeids: presence of series of scutes along the belly. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Schooling species. Feeds on zooplankton. habitat : inshore pelagic.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Israel, 1978. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : wide Indo-Pacific. Red Sea to Samoa and southern Japan. Mediterranean : from two original records in Israel (Ben Tuvia, 1978), the population has recently extended and is new frequently collected. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Its population has increased greatly in the last two years; many specimens were collected using beach seine along the sandy shore of Israel. speculated reasons for success : MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None in the Mediterranean. In some regions it is used as baits.

KEY REFERENCES Ben-Tuvia A., 1978. Immigration of fishes through the Suez Canal. Fishery Bulletin, 76:249-255. Golani D., 2002. Leassepsian fish migration - characterization and impact on the eastern Mediterranean. In: Öztürk B. and N. Basusta, (eds.), Workshop on Lessepsian Migration Proceedings. Turkukish Marine Research Foundation, Istanbul, 1-9 pp. Whitehead P.J.P., 1985. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeodei). Part1 - Chirocentridae, Clupeidae and Pristigasteridae. FAO Species Catalogue 7. FAO, UN, Rome. X+303 pp. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: June 2004 ©ciesm 2002