| Araucanian herring | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | Clupeiformes |
| Family: | Dorosomatidae |
| Genus: | Strangomera Whitehead, 1965 |
| Species: | S. bentincki |
| Binomial name | |
| Strangomera bentincki (Norman, 1936) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Araucanian herring (Strangomera bentincki) is a species of fish in the family Dorosomatidae. It is an epipelagic fish, silvery below and dark blue above, which schools in coastal waters off the west coast of South America. It ranges along the Chilean coast from Valparaíso south to Talcahuano. It schools at depths from 0 to 70 metres (0 to 230 ft) in nearshore areas.
There it filter feeds on smaller plankton such as diatoms. It reaches sexual maturity when it is about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long, and is a pelagic spawner, spawning between June and November. It grows to a maximum standard length of 15 cm (5.9 in).
