European pilchard

The European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypicgenusSardina. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast Atlantic, the , and the Black Sea at depths of 10–100 m (33–328 ft). It reaches up to 27.5 cm (10.8 in) in length and mostly feeds on planktoniccrustaceans. This schooling species is a batch spawner where each female lays 50,000–60,000 eggs.