It has a green-blue upper surface and is silver below, with a series of dark spots high on the sides. Schools shoal and spawn near the water surface in spring and summer in SA and in summer and autumn in NSW, and move into deeper water in the other seasons. Another related fish that occurs commonly is the blue sprat Spratelloides robustus, a species with dark blue on the upper half and a horse-shoe mark at the base of the tail.

• Max Size: 21 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 14.0-23.7°C
• Depth: 0-100m
• Habitat: Open ocean

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Rare (1% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Large aggregations (129 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.