Sillago is a
genus of
fish in the
familySillaginidae and the only non-
monotypic genus in the family.[2] Distinguishing the
species can be difficult, with many similar in appearance and colour, forcing the use of
swim bladdermorphology as a definitive feature. All species are
benthic in nature and generally
coastal fish, living 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. This genus 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.[3]
Taxonomy
The genus Sillago is one of five genera in the family
Sillaginidae, was previously considered to be part of the
Percoidea, a
suborder of the
Perciformes.[4] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the Sillaginidae in the order
Spariformes.[5] The name 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.[4]
Species
There are currently 31 recognized species in this genus:
Various species of this genus 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 them 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.[3] They can be very delicious when deep fried.
^Kaga, T., Imamura, H. & Nakaya, K. (2010): A new sand whiting, Sillago (Sillago) caudicula, from Oman, the Indian Ocean (Perciformes: Sillaginidae). Ichthyological Research, 57 (4): 367-372.
^Xiao J-G, Yu Z-S, Song N, Gao T-X (2021) Description of a new species, Sillago nigrofasciata sp. nov. (Perciformes, Sillaginidae) from the southern coast of China. ZooKeys 1011: 85-100.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1011.57302
^Golani, D., Fricke, R. & Tikochinski, Y. (2013): Sillago suezensis, a new whiting from the northern Red Sea, and status of Sillago erythraea Cuvier (Teleostei: Sillaginidae). Journal of Natural History, 48 (7-8): 413-428.