The dorab wolf-herring (''Chirocentrus dorab'') is a fish species from the genus ''

Chirocentrus The wolf herrings are a family (Chirocentridae) of two marine species of ray-finned fish related to the herrings. Both species have elongated bodies and jaws with long sharp teeth that facilitate their ravenous appetites, mostly for other fish. ...

'' of the family

Chirocentridae The wolf herrings are a family (Chirocentridae) of two marine species of ray-finned fish related to the herrings. Both species have elongated bodies and jaws with long sharp teeth that facilitate their ravenous appetites, mostly for other fish. ...

. It is a

coastal fish Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epi ...

, silvery below and bright blue above. It is found in both marine and brackish or

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

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 The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have ...

in Arabic.An Arabic Zoological Dictionary by Amin Malouf MD. 1985 edition page 86 (Dar Al Rayid Al Arabi) It has another Arabic name, ''lisan'' (لسان) which means ''tongue''.

Description

Dorab wolf-herring have slender, elongated bodies. They are commonly about in length and weigh .

Range

The dorab wolf-herring is found in the Indo-Pacific, probably throughout the warmer coastal waters, from the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

to the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

, north to southern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, south to northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Recently reported from

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Fisheries

The dorab wolf-herring is a commercial species which is sold fresh, dried, salted or frozen. It is also a game fish.''Chirocentrus dorab'' (Forsskål, 1775)
FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012.

References

External links

Fishes of Australia : ''Chirocentrus dorab''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2255165 dorab wolf-herring Commercial fish Marine fish of Northern Australia dorab wolf-herring