Sillago

Taxobox
name = "Sillago"
fossil_range = Early Oligocene to Present [cite journal
last = Sepkoski
first = Jack
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = A compendium of fossil marine animal genera
journal = Bulletins of American Paleontology
volume = 364
issue =
pages = p.560
publisher =
location =
date = 2002
url = http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class
doi =
id =
accessdate = 2007-12-25 ]


image_width = 200px
image_caption = "Sillago argentifasciata" being sold in a Philippine supermarket.
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
subordo = Percoidei
superfamilia = Percoidea
familia = Sillaginidae
genus = "Sillago"
genus_authority = Cuvier, 1817
type_species = "Sillago acuta"
Cuvier, 1817
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = 29, see text

"Sillago" is one of three genera in the family Sillaginidae containing the smelt-whitings, and contains 29 species, making "Sillago" the only non-monotypic genus in the family. Distinguishing among "Sillago" species can be difficult, with many similar in appearance and colour, forcing the use of swim bladder morphology as a definitive feature. All whiting species are benthic in nature and generally live in shallow, protected waters, although there are exceptions. Minor fisheries exist around various species of "Sillago", making them of minor importance in most of their range.

Taxonomy

The genus "Sillago" is one of three genera in the family Sillaginidae, itself part of the Percoidea, a suborder of the Perciformes. The name "Sillago" was first coined by famed taxonomist Georges Cuvier as a genus for his newly described species, "Sillago acuta", which was later found to be a junior synonym of "S. sihama". John Richardson placed the genus, along with "Sillaginodes" and "Sillaginopsis" in a family, which he named the Sillaginidae in 1846. Many species, both valid and invalid were added to the genus, and it was not until 1985 when Roland McKay of the Queensland Museum published a revision of the family Sillaginidae that the complex relationships between these names was cleared up. McKay further divided "Sillago" into three subgenera based primarily on the morphology of the swim bladder.cite journal |last=McKay |first=R.J. |year=1985 |title=A Revision of the Fishes of the Family Sillaginidae |journal=Memoirs of the Queensland Museum |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=1-73 |doi=]
*"Silliganopodys": Swimbladder greatly reduced, with no duct-like process and no haemal funnel
*"Sillago": A double post-coelomic extension penetrating the tail region
*"Parasillago": A single post-coelomic extension of the swimbladder

These subgenera are not universally accepted; for example, FishBase does not currently use them.

The name "Sillago" is derived from a locality or region within Australia,FishBase genus | genus = Sillago | year = 2008 | month = Jun ] possibly after Sillago Reef near Whitsunday Island in Queensland. Citation | last = Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | first = | title = Whitsunday Plan of Management Area boundary map | url = http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1688/pipi_map_whit.pdf | accessdate = 2007-07-22 ]

Classification

This is an exhaustive list of all species currently considered valid by FishBase, itself based on Roland McKay's 1992 FAO Synopsis of the Sillaginidae.
*Genus "Sillago"
** Oriental trumpeter whiting, "Sillago aeolus" (Jordan & Evermann, 1902)
** Golden lined whiting, "Sillago analis" (Whitley, 1943)
** Shortnose whiting, "Sillago arabica" (McKay & McCarthy, 1989)
** Silver-banded whiting, "Sillago argentifasciata" (Martin & Montalban, 1935)
** Asian whiting, "Sillago asiatica" (McKay, 1982)
** Slender whiting, "Sillago attenuata" (McKay, 1985)
** Southern school whiting, "Sillago bassensis" (Cuvier, 1829)
** Boutan's whiting", Sillago boutani" (Pellegrin, 1905)
** Western trumpeter whiting, "Sillago burrus" (Richardson, 1842)
** Club-foot whiting, "Sillago chondropus" (Bleeker, 1849)
** Sand whiting, "Sillago ciliata" (Cuvier, 1829)
** Eastern school whiting, "Sillago flindersi" (McKay, 1985)
** Indian whiting, "Sillago indica" (McKay, Dutt & Sujatha, 1985)
** Bay whiting, "Sillago ingenuua" (McKay, 1985)
** Thai whiting, "Sillago intermedius" (Wongratana, 1977)
** Japanese whiting, "Sillago japonica" (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843)
** Mud whiting, "Sillago lutea" (McKay, 1985)
** Large-scale whiting, "Sillago macrolepis" (Bleeker, 1859)
** Trumpeter whiting, "Sillago maculata" (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824)
** Large-headed whiting, "Sillago megacephalus" (Lin, 1933)
** Small-eyed whiting, "Sillago microps" (McKay, 1985)
** Rough whiting", Sillago nierstraszi" (Hardenberg, 1941)
** Small-scale whiting, " Sillago parvisquamis" (Gill, 1861)
** Stout whiting, "Sillago robusta" (Stead, 1908)
** Yellowfin whiting, "Sillago schomburgkii" (Peters, 1864)
** Northern whiting, "Sillago sihama" (Forsskål, 1775)
** Soringa whiting, "Sillago soringa" (Dutt and Sujatha, 1982)
** Estuarine whiting, "Sillago vincenti" (McKay, 1980)
** Western school whiting, "Sillago vittata" (McKay, 1985)

Description

All species in the genus "Sillago" are similar to other members of the Sillaginidae family in profile, with the distinctive compressed, long, tapering body common to all species. The definitive characteristic for "Sillago" is the presence of a swim bladder, in all but one case ("Sillago chondropus") having a duct-like process from the ventral surface to near the anus. Their swim bladders are often complex, further distinguishing them from the genera "Sillaginodes" and "Sillaginopsis" (which often lacks a swim bladder entirely). cite book | last = McKay | first = R.J. | coauthors = | title = FAO Species Catalogue: Vol. 14. Sillaginid Fishes Of The World | publisher = Food and Agricultural Organisation | date = 1992 | url = ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/t0538e/t0538e06.pdf | location = Rome | pages = 19-20 | isbn = 92-5-103123-1 ]

Members of the genus usually have a silver to gold-brown colour depending on their habitat, with shallow sand flat fish having a more silver appearance, while estuary and silt bottom dwellers having a darker brown colour.

Distribution and habitat

With 29 species, the genus "Sillago" has the widest distribution of any smelt-whiting genus, spanning much of the Indo-Pacific. The genus ranges from the east coast of Africa to Japan in the east and Southern Australia in the south, with most species concentrated around South East Asia, the Indonesian Archipelago and Australia. Many species have overlapping distribution, often making positive identification hard. ]

Sillagos are generally coastal fishes, inhabiting a variety of shallow water habitats including open sand flats, muddy substrates and beaches with moderately strong wave action. Some species enter estuaries and even penetrate fresh water for considerable periods, especially during vulnerable stages of their life cycle. Shallow water of a few centimetres is also occupied by juvenile sillagos, especially in the vicinity of cover such as seagrass beds or mangroves. A few species are known to inhabit deeper offshore waters, with fish known from trawls up to 180 m (600 ft) deep. ]

Relationship to humans

Various species of "Sillago" represent minor local fisheries in their ranges, with many having commercial importance. Fish are taken by a variety of methods including seine, gill and cast nets as well as by line. Recreational fishing for "Sillago" is common, especially in Australia where they are valued as food fish or for live bait for larger species. Estuarine aquaculture in India, Japan and Taiwan has utilized sillagos as an important species, and similar trials have been conducted in Australia. ]

References

External links

* [http://www.fishbase.org/Eschmeyer/GeneraSummary.cfm?ID=Sillago Sillago at Fishbase]