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Escualosa thoracata

White sardine

Small tropical clupeid fish of the Indo-Pacific.

Photo: Hariprasad Shetty10, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The white sardine is a small marine fish found in tropical waters from Thailand to Australia. Described in 1847, it supports local fisheries as a food source consumed fresh or dried.

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  • Reaches a maximum standard length of 10 cm
  • Found from Thailand to Australia
  • Feeds on zooplankton and phytoplankton
  • Used fresh and dried in commerce

What it is

This small fish belongs to the herring family. It has a deeper body shape than its close relative, the slender white sardine. A broad silver band runs along its side. Adults reach a standard length of ten centimetres. The species lives in tropical zones across the Indo-Pacific region.

Where it lives

Its distribution spans from Thailand through Indonesia to Australia. The fish inhabits tropical waters within this range. It is known to swim at depths reaching up to fifty metres. This habitat preference places it in coastal and shelf environments rather than the open ocean or deep sea.

How it lives

The white sardine feeds on tiny drifting organisms. Its diet consists of zooplankton and phytoplankton. As an amphidromous species, it moves between fresh and salt water during its life cycle. This migration pattern distinguishes it from strictly marine or freshwater relatives.

Breeding and life cycle

Specific details regarding spawning seasons, egg development, or juvenile growth rates are not provided in the current information. The amphidromous nature suggests movement between water types for reproduction, but exact behaviours remain unstated.

White sardine
A drawing made by EveryFish from what this page says. It is a diagram, not a picture of the real fish.

Fish and people

Local fisheries target this species for human consumption. It holds commercial importance in its native range. Consumers eat the fish fresh or in a dried form.

Status and threats

Conservation status data is not included in the provided material. Threats such as overfishing or habitat loss are not detailed. No specific protection programmes or legal statuses are mentioned for this taxon.

Escualosa thoracata syn. Meletta lile syn. Clupea lile The species names / identity need verification - original names from plate are included here. The original plates showed the fishes facing right and have been flippe
Escualosa thoracata syn. Meletta lile syn. Clupea lile The species names / identity need verification - original names f. Photo: C. Achilles, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions people ask about White sardine

How big does the white sardine get?

The largest known standard length for this species is ten centimetres. It is a small fish with a deeper body than its slender relative.

Where can you find white sardines?

They live in tropical Indo-Pacific waters. Their range extends from Thailand and Indonesia down to Australia. They swim at depths up to fifty metres.

What do white sardines eat?

These fish feed on plankton. Their diet includes both zooplankton, which are tiny animals, and phytoplankton, which are microscopic plants drifting in the water.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Escualosa thoracata", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryFish rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes, and figures change over time. Nothing here is investment or buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-11-15.

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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