Chandana

Chandana local name for shad, Tenualosa toli of family Clupeidae. Chandana is strongly compressed laterally, and is silver in colour. The young ones have dark shoulder spots. Scales of the back are conspicuously dark coloured. Chandana occurs in the bay of bengal, its estuaries, and tidal rivers. This species can be distinguished from T. ilisha because of its distinct median notch in the upper jaw, and the lower jaw is firmly included within the mouth. Chandana is not commercially as important as the common hilsa, T. ilisha. [Akhtarunnessa Chowdhury]