Kelee shad
Hilsa kelee
- Usual depth1–60 m
- Water temperature18–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Gannu03, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Hilsa kelee, called the kelee shad, fivespot herring, hilsa, ilish and the razorbelly, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Dorosomatidae, which includes the gizzard shads and sardinellas. This fish is found along the coasts and estuaries of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, generally in tropical waters in the Bay of Bengal. It feeds on diatoms and dinoflagellates, and any other small plankton that it can trap in its gill rakers. Some individuals can reach 35 cm, but most are around 16.5 cm. Hilsa kelee is currently considered the only species in the genus Hilsa, although other species have been included in the genus previously.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Hilsa kelee”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 36 records
- February: 5 records
- March: 4 records
- April: 11 records
- May: 10 records
- June: 15 records
- July: 15 records
- August: 5 records
- September: 6 records
- October: 9 records
- November: 3 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–60 m · Deepest record: 309.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 18–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Kelee shad
Names in 3 more languages
- Spanish
- sábalo chandano
- French
- alose palli
- Simplified Chinese
- 中國鰣, 花點鰣
Other scientific names: Alausa brachysoma, Alausa kanagurta, Alosa brevis, Alosa malayana, Clupea durbanensis, Clupea kanagurta, Clupea kelee, Clupea platygaster, Clupeonia blochii, Harengula zeylanica, Hilsa kanagurta, Hilsa kanakurta, Hilsa keele, Hilsa keelee, Macrura brevis, Macrura kelee, Tenualosa kelee
Similar species
Goldstripe sardinellaSardinella gibbosa
Spotted sardinellaAmblygaster sirm
Chacunda gizzard shadAnodontostoma chacunda
Deep HerringEscualosa thoracata
Bluestripe herringHerklotsichthys quadrimaculatus
Dotted gizzard shadKonosirus punctatus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 2,679 open-data records from 1802 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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