Milkfish

Milkfish
Temporal range: 56–0 Ma Early Eocene–present
French Polynesia
Milkfish (locally bangús) in a Philippine fish market
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gonorynchiformes
Family: Chanidae
Subfamily: Chaninae
Genus: Chanos
Lacépède, 1803
Species:
C. chanos
Binomial name
Chanos chanos
(Forsskål, 1775)
Synonyms
  • Butirinus argenteus Jerdon, 1849
  • Butirinus maderaspatensis Jerdon, 1849
  • Chanos arabicus Lacepède, 1803
  • Chanos chloropterus Valenciennes, 1847
  • Chanos cyprinella Valenciennes, 1847
  • Chanos gardineri Regan, 1902
  • Chanos indicus (van Hasselt, 1823)
  • Chanos lubina Valenciennes, 1847
  • Chanos mento Valenciennes, 1847
  • Chanos mossambicus (Peters, 1852)
  • Chanos nuchalis Valenciennes, 1847
  • Chanos orientalis Valenciennes, 1847
  • Chanos salmoneus (Forster, 1801)
  • Chanos salmonoides Günther, 1879
  • Cyprinus pala Cuvier, 1829
  • Cyprinus palah (Cuvier, 1829)
  • Cyprinus tolo Cuvier, 1829
  • Leuciscus palah Cuvier, 1829
  • Leuciscus salmoneus (Forster, 1801)
  • Leuciscus zeylonicus Bennett, 1833
  • Lutodeira chanos (Forsskål, 1775)
  • Lutodeira chloropterus (Valenciennes, 1847)
  • Lutodeira indica van Hasselt, 1823
  • Lutodeira mossambica Peters, 1852
  • Lutodeira mossambicus Peters, 1852
  • Lutodeira salmonea (Forster, 1801)
  • Mugil chanos Forsskål, 1775
  • Mugil salmoneus Forster, 1801

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.[2][3][4] The repeating scientific name (tautonym) is from Greek khanos (χάνος ‘mouth’).[5][6] They are grouped in the order Gonorhynchiformes and are most closely related to the Ostariophysi—freshwater fishes such as carps, catfish, and loaches. [7]

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.[8] In the Nauruan language, it is referred to as ibiya. Milkfish is also called bandeng or bolu in Indonesia.[9]

The following are common names for milkfish by country:[7]

  • Philippines: bangus, bangrus, banglus, banglot, banglis, sabalo, awa
  • Indonesia: ikan bandeng, baulo, bolu, balanak sembawa
  • Burma: ga-tin
  • Malaysia: bandang, jangos, pisong-pisong
  • Sri Lanka: plai-meen, vaikka
  • Thailand: pla nua chan
  • S. India: pal-meen
  • S. Vietnam: ca mang
  • Iraq binni: al-bahr
  • Taiwan: sabahee
  • Hawaii: awa-awa
  • Japan: sabahee
  • Mexico: sabalo
  1. ^ Freyhof, J.; Sparks, J.S.; Kaymaram, F.; Feary, D.; Bishop, J.; Al-Husaini, M.; Almukhtar, M.; Hartmann, S.; Alam, S.; Al-Khalaf, K. (2019). "Chanos chanos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T60324A151598011. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T60324A151598011.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke, eds. (4 January 2016). "Catalog of Fishes". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  3. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Chanidae". FishBase. October 2015 version.
  4. ^ Nelson, J. S. (2006). Fishes of the World (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-0-471-25031-9.
  5. ^ "Chanidae". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. "from Greek chanos mouth"
  6. ^ David Starr Jordan; et al. (1896). The Fishes of North and Middle America, pt. 1. Government Printing Office. p. 414. OCLC 1052833. from χάνος, the open mouth
  7. ^ a b Bagarinao, T. (1999). Ecology and farming of milkfish. Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.
  8. ^ Pangilinan, Leon Jr. (3 October 2014). "In Focus: 9 Facts You May Not Know About Philippine National Symbols". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference FishBase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).