Kelee shad
Hilsa kelee (Cuvier, 1829)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Hilsa kelee; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:52:45.933780+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hilsa kelee (Cuvier, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1829)
- Common name
- Kelee shad
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Clupeiformes
- Family
- Dorosomatidae
- Genus
- Hilsa
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderClupeiformes
- suborderClupeoidei Bleeker, 1859
- familyDorosomatidae Gill, 1861
- genusHilsa Regan, 1917
- speciesHilsa kelee (Cuvier, 1829)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hilsa kanagurta (Bleeker, 1852) (Bleeker, 1852) | synonym |
| Macrura brevis (Bleeker, 1848) (Bleeker, 1848) | synonym |
| Tenualosa kelee (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Clupea platygaster Günther, 1868 Günther, 1868 | synonym |
| Harengula zeylanica Hubrecht, 1879 Hubrecht, 1879 | synonym |
| Hilsa keelee (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Alausa kanagurta Bleeker, 1852 Bleeker, 1852 | synonym |
| Alosa brevis Bleeker, 1848 Bleeker, 1848 | synonym |
| Alosa malayana Bleeker, 1866 Bleeker, 1866 | synonym |
| Clupeonia blochii Valenciennes, 1847 Valenciennes, 1847 | synonym |
| Alausa brachysoma Bleeker, 1854 Bleeker, 1854 | synonym |
| Hilsa kanakurta (Bleeker, 1852) (Bleeker, 1852) | synonym |
| Macrura kelee (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Hilsa keele (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Clupea durbanensis Regan, 1906 Regan, 1906 | synonym |
| Clupea kanagurta (Bleeker, 1852) (Bleeker, 1852) | synonym |
| Clupea kelee Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=212278 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3LXJB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.