milkfish
Chanos chanos (Fabricius, 1775)
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.
Chanos chanos observé à la Réunion.
Elisabeth Morcel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The milkfish (Chanos chanos) is a widespread species of ray-finned fish found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is the sole living species in the family Chanidae, and the only living member of the genus Chanos.
The repeating scientific name (tautonym) is from Greek khanos (χάνος 'mouth'). They are grouped in the order Gonorhynchiformes and are most closely related to the Ostariophysi—freshwater fishes such as carps, catfish, and loaches.
The species has many common names. The Hawaiian name for the fish is awa, and in Tahitian it is ava. It is called bangús (Tagalog: [bɐˈŋus]) in the Philippines, where it is popularly known as the national fish, although the National Commission for Culture and the Arts has stated that this is not the case as it has no basis in Philippine law. In the Nauruan language, it is referred to as ibiya. Milkfish is also called bandeng or bolu in Indonesia.
Wikipedia contributors, Milkfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:33:49.908426+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chanos chanos (Fabricius, 1775)
- Name authority
- (Fabricius, 1775)
- Common name
- milkfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gonorynchiformes
- Family
- Chanidae
- Genus
- Chanos
- 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
- orderGonorynchiformes
- familyChanidae Günther, 1868
- genusChanos Lacepède, 1803
- speciesChanos chanos (Fabricius, 1775)
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.
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=217625 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.
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:KV4XR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.