Wolf herring
Genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wolf herring are a family (Chirocentridae) of two marine species of ray-finned fish related to herrings.
| Wolf herring | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dorab wolf-herring | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Clupeiformes |
| Family: | Chirocentridae Bleeker, 1849[2] |
| Genus: | Chirocentrus Cuvier, 1816 |
| Type species | |
| Clupea dorab | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
| |
Both species have elongated bodies and jaws with long sharp teeth that aid their ravenous appetites, primarily for other fish.[4] They can grow up to1 m in length and have silvery sides with bluish backs.
They are commercially fished and sold fresh or frozen.
Wolf Herring tend to stay near coastal waters off Africa and Asia, mostly in the Indian Ocean, but some Wolf Herrings have also been spotted near Australian beaches.
Species
- Chirocentrus dorab (Fabricius, 1775) - Dorab wolf-herring, found in warm coastal waters from the Red Sea to Japan and Australia
- Chirocentrus nudus Swainson, 1839 - whitefin wolf-herring, found in a similar range (This species is difficult to distinguish from C. dorab; the former has a black mark on its dorsal fin. This species is also known to eat crabs in addition to its usual diet of smaller fish.)
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