📸 PhotoPhoto: Micromesistius · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Elongate ilisha
Ilisha elongata (Elongate ilisha · ヒラ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum total length of 60 cm is 10 cm longer than a 50 cm student ruler (Comparison).
- 💡 In Korea, it can be seen off Busan, Wando, Yeosu, Buan, and Gunsan (National List of Species of Korea).
- 💡 It is heavily caught commercially (FishBase) and is also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The elongate ilisha is a laterally compressed, silvery-white fish living in coastal waters with mixed sand and mud bottoms. It prefers warm water and also enters estuaries.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is a strongly compressed spindle shape, dark gray above and silvery-white on the sides and belly. It lacks a lateral line and has a row of scutes along the belly forming a ventral keel.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds on small fishes, invertebrates, and crustacean zooplankton. Its spawning season is May to June.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed in the National List of Species of Korea and recorded from the waters off Busan, Wando, Yeosu, Buan, and Gunsan.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2017) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/75156647/75156676
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3PG7V
- • iucnredlist.org — 75156676
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000057480 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000057480
- • wikidata.org — Q846950
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Elongate ilisha.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Ilisha-elongata.html
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — M Kolmann · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Pellona flavipinnis)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.