Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra, The Hassar, an Armoured Tropical Fish, in Fish: Food from the Waters, edited by Harlan Walker, page 220: "hassar - is the Guyanese name [...]. Allsopp's Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage (OUP 1996) defines the word hassar as a derivative of the Arawak asa, meaning 'a small highly-prized edible fish'.