View source for Slender rainbow sardine

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Slender rainbow sardine
| image=Dussumieria elopsoides.png
| image2=Dussumieria hasseltii Achilles 166.jpg
| taxon = Dussumieria elopsoides
| authority = ([[Pieter Bleeker|Bleeker]], 1849)
}}

The '''slender rainbow sardine''' (''Dussumieria elopsoides'') is a small, subtropical, salt water fish of the [[Indian Ocean]] and the [[South China Sea]] which was first described by [[Pieter Bleeker|Bleeker]] in 1849.  ''Dussumieria hasselti'' and ''Dussumieria productissima'' are synonyms for this same fish. It is a round herring of the family [[Clupeidae]].

Until the 1980s in the eastern  [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] slender rainbow sardines were frequently confused with the [[rainbow sardine]] (''Dussumieria acuta''). Wangratana (1980) demonstrated the differences between ''Dussumieria acuta'' and ''Dussumieria elopsoides'', while Whitehead (1985) and Randall (1996) showed that ''Dussumieria elopsoides'' does occur in the Mediterranean.

==Morphology==
* Size: 8&nbsp;cm. to 18&nbsp;cm.
* Color: silvery on the sides darkening to bluish grey on the back, and lightening to almost white on the underside.
* Shape: The slender rainbow sardine has an elongated body, with round belly and a pointed nose. The single dorsal (back) fin is slightly behind midpoint. The tail fin is heavily forked. The scales are very delicate and are easily detached.  Like other sardines it has no lateral line, and no scales on the head.
The slender rainbow sardine is primarily differentiated from the rainbow sardine, because the slender rainbow sardines do not have tiny radiating striae on the posterior part of their scales. There is some indication that the slender rainbow sardine may tend to have more vertebra than the rainbow sardine.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.twichthyology.org/ipfc7/abs/Poster%20Sessions/P14/P14-05.pdf#search=%22%22Dussumieria%20elopsoides%22%22 |title=Ishimori, Hiro and Yoshino, Tetsuo ''Larvae and Juveniles of Dussumieria Elopsoides from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan'' The Ichthyological Society of Taiwan |access-date=2006-08-19 |archive-date=2012-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208111315/http://www.twichthyology.org/ipfc7/abs/Poster%20Sessions/P14/P14-05.pdf#search=%22%22Dussumieria%20elopsoides%22%22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Distribution==
[[File:Eungkôt Tamban.jpg|thumb|300px|Slender rainbow sardines in [[Aceh]]]]

The native range of the slender rainbow sardine is in the tropical and subtropical portions of the [[Indian Ocean]] and the [[South China Sea]]. It is found from [[East Asia]] in the northeast, through [[Southeast Asia]] to northern [[Australia]] in the south, and through [[South Asia]] to eastern [[Africa]], the [[Persian Gulf]], and the [[Red Sea]] in the west. It is also found off the coasts of islands deep in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], such as [[Tonga]] and the [[Solomon Islands]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dussumieria elopsoides, Slender rainbow sardine : fisheries |url=https://www.fishbase.se/summary/1454 |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=www.fishbase.se}}</ref> ''Dussumieria elopsoides'' entered the [[Mediterranean Sea]] via the [[Suez Canal]] in the middle of the last century. Recorded first off Israel in 1949, it is now quite common in the south-eastern Mediterranean from [[Egypt]] to [[Turkey]].<ref>Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (''Dussumieria elopsoides''). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco.https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Dussumieria_elopsoides.pdf</ref>

==Habits==
The slender rainbow sardine swims in schools and while [[pelagic]] it is generally found near shores. It feeds on [[zooplankton]],  mainly [[crustacean]] and smaller fish. The slender rainbow sardine spawns mainly in spring. Its eggs, and when they hatch the larvae, drift passively until they metamorphose into free-swimming fish.

==Economics==
Like other sardines the slender rainbow sardine is caught both as a bait fish and for human consumption.  Frequently fishermen catch them in shore with a purse seine (an encircling net) and then release them in deeper water where they attract larger fish.

Some sardines are made into fish meal which is then used as an animal feed or plant supplement. Oil is also extracted for a variety of uses from varnish to cooking oil.

FAO code: CLUP Duss 2

==Notes==
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==References==
* Whitehead, Peter 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 {{ISBN|92-5-102340-9}} ;
* Lissner, H., (1949) ''Sardine fishing in Israel.'' Sea fisheries Research Station, Scientific Technical Information, 2: 1-25.
* Ben-Tuvia, A., (1953) “New Erythrean fishes from the Mediterranean coast of Israel.” ''Nature'', 172:464-465. 
* El-Sayed, R.S., (1994) ''Check-list of Egyptian Mediterranean fishes.'' National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt. 77 + ix pp. 
* Mahgoub, Osman et al. (May 2005) “Evaluation of sun-dried sardines as a protein supplement for Omani sheep.”  ''Animal Feed Science & Technology '' 120(3/4): pp 245–257.

==External links==
* [https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=551210 ''Dussumieria elopsoides'' Integrated Taxonomic Information System];
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928001704/http://64.95.130.5/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=1454 ''Dussumieria elopsoides - Slender rainbow sardine'' FishBase];
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060928090330/http://www.ciesm.org/atlas/Dussumieriaelopsoides.html ''Dussumieria elopsoides''] [[The Mediterranean Science Commission]];
* [http://www.lifemapper.org/robotfood/Fish/Dussumieria%20elopsoides.HTM distribution map from Lifemapper]{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }};

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2026508}}

[[Category:Dussumieria|slender rainbow sardine]]
[[Category:Commercial fish]]
[[Category:Fish of the Red Sea]]
[[Category:Marine fauna of South Asia]]
[[Category:Marine fish of Southeast Asia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1849|slender rainbow sardine]]