The little yellow croaker is a fish of the family Sciaenidae.

[Local names] Yellow croaker, xiaoxian, bigeye, huayu, xiaohuanggua, guyu, yellow-scale fish, xiaochunyu, golden dragon, hOU LING ZI.

[Morphological characteristics] The little yellow croaker closely resembles the large yellow croaker in appearance, but is smaller in size, generally 16-25 cm in body length and 200-300 g in weight. The dorsal side is yellowish brown, and the ventral commission is yellow. The main differences between the large and little yellow croakers are: the large yellow croaker has smaller scales while the little yellow croaker has larger and sparser scales; the large yellow croaker has a longer caudal peduncle while the little yellow croaker has a shorter caudal peduncle; the second anal fin spine of the large yellow croaker is equal to or larger than the eye diameter, while that of the little yellow croaker is smaller than the eye diameter; the large yellow croaker has 4 inconspicuous small pores on the chin, while the little yellow croaker has 6 small pores; the lower lip of the large yellow croaker is longer than the upper lip, and the mouth is relatively round when closed, while the upper and lower lips of the little yellow croaker are equal in length, and the mouth is relatively pointed when closed.

[Origin and season] It is mainly distributed in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea of China. The main producing areas are along the coasts of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Shandong provinces. March to May each year is the spring fishing season; September to December is the autumn fishing season.

[Economic value] It was originally one of the main economic fish species in China. Its flesh is tender and nutritious, making it a high-quality food fish and also a nourishing and therapeutic delicacy for infants, young children and those weakened after illness.