Dorosomatidae

Kelee shad

Hilsa kelee

Trapping plankton via rakers

• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Indian Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• Africa
• Oceania
• Southeast Asia
• West Asia
• Fusiform
• Compressed cross-section
• Medium
• Tropical fish

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.