Wolf herring
The wolf herrings are a family (Chirocentridae) of two marine species of ray-finned fish related to the herrings.
| Wolf herrings | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dorab wolf-herring | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Clupeiformes |
| Family: | Chirocentridae Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1846 |
| Genus: | Chirocentrus Cuvier, 1816 |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Both species have elongated bodies and jaws with long sharp teeth that facilitate their ravenous appetites, mostly for other fish.[2] Both species reach a length of 1 m. They have silvery sides and bluish backs.
They are commercially fished, and marketed fresh or frozen.
Species
- Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 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.)
References
- Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- Nelson, Gareth (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Chirocentridae" in FishBase. June 2011 version.
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