-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Ray-finned Fishes (Class Actinopterygii)

-Herrings (Order Clupeiformes)

-Suborder Clupeoidei

-Shads and Sardines (Family Alosidae)

-Sardines (Genus Sardinops)

-Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax)

Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), or South American pilchard, is a neritic, coastal pelagic species caught down to depths of about 40 m, that forms large schools. Pacific sardines are filter feeders that feed on a variety of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Though they filter very small prey, they use their relatively large eyes and exceptional eyesight to increase the density of prey in the water that they filter.