Dorab wolf-herring

The dorab wolf-herring (Chirocentrus dorab) is a fish species from the genus Chirocentrus of the family Chirocentridae.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] It has another Arabic name, lisan (لسان) ^[5] which means tongue.

Dorab wolf-herring
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Clupeiformes
Family:	Chirocentridae
Genus:	Chirocentrus
Species:	C. dorab
Binomial name
Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 1775)
Synonyms[2]
Chirocentris dorab (Forsskål, 1775) Chirocentrus hypselosoma Bleeker, 1852 Clupea dentex Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Clupea dorab Forsskål, 1775 Esox chirocentrus Lacepède, 1803 Neosudis vorax Castelnau, 1873

Sinhala name - කටුවල්ලා(katuwalla)

Description

Dorab wolf-herring head

Dorab wolf-herring have slender, elongated bodies. They are commonly about 3–120 centimetres (1.2–47.2 in) in length and weigh 170–1,200 grams (0.37–2.65 lb).^[6]

Range

The dorab wolf-herring is found in the 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.^[4]

Fisheries

The dorab wolf-herring is a commercial species which is sold fresh, dried, salted or frozen. It is also a game fish.^[7]