English Name: Bluestripe herring
Family: CLUPEIDAE
Local Name: Gumbalha
Order: Clupeiformes
Size: Max. 14 cm
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 17-20 rays.Anal fin with 17-19 rays. Pectoral fin with 15-16 rays. Body depth 3.3-5.5 in standard length. Fusiform and moderately slender body. Belly with a distinct scutes. Top of head with few fronto-parietal striae, a broad wing-like scales almost hidden beneath the overlapping predorsal scales.
Colour: Back bluish green without spots. Flanks silvery with an electric blue line preceded by two orange spots.
Habitat and Biology: In daytime forms dense schools in shallow lagoons. During night time moves into deeper water. Feeds on zooplankton mainly at night.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific.
Remarks: Herklorsichthys quadrirnaculatus forms large daytime schools in shallow lagoons, often in association with schools of Bigeye scad.Sometimes used as livebait in the tuna fishery.
