Chirocentrus nudus Swainson, 1839

Zainal Abidin, Danial Hariz, Lavoué, Sébastien, Mohd Abu Hassan Alshari, Norli Fauzani, Mohd. Nor, Siti Azizah, A. Rahim, Masazurah & Mohammed Akib, Noor Adelyna, 2021, Ichthyofauna of Sungai Merbok Mangrove Forest Reserve, northwest Peninsular Malaysia, and its adjacent marine waters, Check List 17 (2), pp. 601-631 : 607-609

Chirocentrus nudus Swainson, 1839 Figure 3A

Material examined. MALAYSIA • 2, 339– 340 mm

TL; Kedah State, Kuala Kedah, Kuala Muda Whispering Market; 05.578°N, 100.341°E; 6 Dec. 2018; Danial H. Zainal Abidin, Norli F.M.A.H. Alshari leg.; USMFC (72) 00001.

Identification. A large species of herring-like fish (max- imum TL reported about 1000 mm); body very elongated and strongly compressed; no scutes along the belly; mouth large with two exposed fang-like canine teeth pointing forward in the upper jaw; large teeth in lower jaw; no lateral line; dorsal and anal fins beginning at about the same level, well behind midpoint of body; anal fin longer than dorsal fin, caudal fin forked; back dark blue, flanks and belly silver; fins mostly translucent ( Whitehead 1985).

Wolf herrings (genus Chirocentrus ) are straightforwardly recognisable. Only two species are valid and occur in this region: C. nudus resembles Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 1775) but can be distinguished by the absence of black marking on dorsal fin. Chirocentrus nudus is a predominantly coastal marine species; young individuals occasionally occur in brackish ecosystems. Widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region ( Whitehead 1985).