CreatureData

Spotback herring

Herklotsichthys punctatus (Rüppell, 1837)

Status not recordedbony fish

The spotback herring (Herklotsichthys punctatus) is a species in the family Dorosomatidae, order Clupeiformes.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the spotback herring

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the spotback herring live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the spotback herring as introduced in 7 countries.

  1. Cyprus
  2. Egypt
  3. Israel
  4. Lebanon
  5. Libya
  6. Syria
  7. Türkiye

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the spotback herring endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the spotback herring classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderClupeiformes
  5. familyDorosomatidae
  6. genusHerklotsichthys
  7. SpeciesHerklotsichthys punctatus (Rüppell, 1837)

Synonyms Clupea punctata, Harengula arabica, Harengula punctatus, Herclotsichthys punctatus, Herklosichthys punctatus, Herklostichthys punctatus, Herkloteichthys punctatus, Herklotsichthys punctata, Spratella erythraea

Other names and names in other languages (12)
  • sleď skvrnitýCzech
  • Plettet sildDanish
  • täpläselkäsilliFinnish
  • סרדינית נקודהHebrew
  • Пятнистая азиатская сардинкаRussian
  • sardalyaTurkish
  • 鰮仔Chinese
  • סַרְדִּינִית נְקֻדָּהHebrew
  • Benekli SardalyaTurkish
  • 斑點似青鱗魚Chinese
  • 斑點青鱗Chinese
  • 青鱗仔Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the spotback herring

Other species in the same genus Herklotsichthys.

Oily herring

Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus

DorosomatidaeNo free photo yet

Gulf herring

Herklotsichthys lossei

DorosomatidaeNo free photo yet

Sprat

Herklotsichthys castelnaui

DorosomatidaeNo free photo yet

CompareSpotback herring vs Oily herringSpotback herring vs Gulf herringSpotback herring vs Blackburn's herringSpotback herring vs Sprat

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the spotback herring an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the spotback herring as introduced in 7 countries, including Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Libya, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the spotback herring?

The spotback herring (Herklotsichthys punctatus) belongs to the family Dorosomatidae in the order Clupeiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spotback herring (Herklotsichthys punctatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotback-herring

MLA

“Spotback herring (Herklotsichthys punctatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotback-herring.

BibTeX
@misc{spotback_herring_2026,
  title = {Spotback herring (Herklotsichthys punctatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotback-herring},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}