It has known by various names in different regions and languages, such as Borali (বৰালি) in Assamese , Tamil ஆத்துவாளை  (Aaththu vaalai), Manipuri Sareng,Mizo:Thaichhawninu, the Odisha Balia (ବାଳିଆ), the Bengal Boal (বোয়াল), Vietnamese : Cá leo the Sylheti Gual or the Malaysian and Indonesian Tapah are also occasionally used in English. W. attu is found in large rivers and lakes in two geographically disconnected regions (disjunct distribution), with one population living over much of the Indian Subcontinent and the other in parts of Southeast Asia.
It has been known by different names across various regions and languages, including Borali (বৰালি) in Assamese, Tamil ஆத்துவாளை  (Aaththu vaalai), Manipuri Sareng, Mizo: Thaichhawninu, Odisha Balia (ବାଳିଆ), Bengal Boal (বোয়াল), Vietnamese : Cá leo, the Sylheti Gual or Tapah in English. W. attu is found in large rivers and lakes in two geographically separate regions with one population covering much of the Indian Subcontinent and another in parts of Southeast Asia.