smoothbelly sardinella
Amblygaster leiogaster (Valenciennes, 1847)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Amblygaster leiogaster, the smoothbelly sardinella, also known as blue sardine, blue sprat, bluebait, is a reef-associated marine species of sardinella in the herring family Clupeidae. It is one of the three species of genus Amblygaster. It is found in the marine waters along Indo-West Pacific regions south towards western Australia. The fish has 13 to 21 dorsal soft rays and 12 to 23 anal soft rays. It grows up to a maximum length of 23 cm. The flank is gold in fresh fish but becomes black while preservation. Belly is more rounded and scutes are not prominent. It is rather closely resemble Amblygaster clupeoides, but the latter has very few lower gill rakers than smoothbelly sardinella. The fish feeds on minute organisms like zooplankton.
Wikipedia contributors, Amblygaster leiogaster; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:56:29.287407+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Amblygaster leiogaster (Valenciennes, 1847)
- Name authority
- (Valenciennes, 1847)
- Common name
- smoothbelly sardinella
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Clupeiformes
- Family
- Dorosomatidae
- Genus
- Amblygaster
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderClupeiformes
- suborderClupeoidei Bleeker, 1859
- familyDorosomatidae Gill, 1861
- genusAmblygaster Bleeker, 1849
- speciesAmblygaster leiogaster (Valenciennes, 1847)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Amblygaster. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| spotted sardinellaAmblygaster sirm (Walbaum, 1792) | DorosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amblygaster clupeoides Bleeker, 1849 | DorosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Sardinella leiogaster Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Amblyogaster leiogaster (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Clupea leiogaster (Valenciennes, 1847) (Valenciennes, 1847) | synonym |
| Clupea okinawensis Kishinouye, 1908 Kishinouye, 1908 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217440 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:CLR8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.