Phylum Chordata Rank Species | Scientific name Chirocentrus dorab Higher classification Chirocentrus | |
 | ||
Family ChirocentridaeCuvier & Valenciennes, 1846 Genus ChirocentrusCuvier, 1816 Similar Wolf herring, Clupeiformes, Rainbow sardine, Thryssa, Ilisha | ||
The dorab wolf-herring, Chirocentrus dorab is a fish species from the Chirocentrus genus of the Chirocentridae family. It is a coastal fish, silvery below and bright blue above. It is found in both marine and brackish or estuarine waters, feeding on smaller fish and possibly crustaceans. Chirocentrus is from the Greek cheir meaning hand and kentron meaning sting. Dorab is from the Arabic language word darrab (ضرّاب) and the word is probably a corrupted form of durubb (دُرُبّ) the name for goldfish in Arabic. It has another Arabic name, lisan (لسان) which means tongue.
Contents
Range
Indo-Pacific: probably throughout the warmer coastal waters, from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Solomon Islands, north to southern Japan, south to northern Australia. Recently reported from Tonga.
Fisheries
The dorab wolf-herring is a commercial species which is sold fresh, dried, salted or frozen. It is also a game fish.
