Sillago

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Eupercaria
Ordo: Perciformes
Subordo: Percoidei
Superfamilia: Percoidea

Familia: Sillaginidae
Genus: Sillago
Species: S. aeolus – S. analis – S. arabica – S. argentifasciata – S. asiatica – S. attenuata – S. bassensis – S. boutani – S. burrus – S. caudicula – S. ciliata – S. flindersi – S. indica – S. ingenuua – S. intermedius – S. japonica – S. lutea – S. maculata – S. megacephalus – S. microps – S. nierstraszi – S. nigrofasciata – S. parvisquamis – S. punctatus – S. robusta – S. schomburgkii – S. sihama – S. sinica – S. soringa – S. suezensis – S. vincenti – S. vittata
Name

Sillago Cuvier, 1816: 258

Type species: Sillago acuta Cuvier, 1816. Type by subsequent designation. Type designated by Gill, 1861: 503

Synonyms

Parasillago (subgenus of Sillago) McKay, 1985

References

Cuvier G.L. 1816–1817. Le Règne Animal distribué d'après son organisation pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Avec Figures, dessinées d'après nature. Tome II. Contenant Les reptiles, les poissons, les mollusques et les annélides. Edition 1, Deterville, Paris. pp. i–xviii + 1–532. [Pls. 9–10, in v. 4] DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.41460 BHL Reference page. [original description: p. 258]
Golani, D. , R. Fricke & Y. Tikochinski 2011: Rehabilitation of Sillago erythraea Cuvier, and redescription of Sillago sihama (Forsskål) (Teleostei: Sillaginidae) from the Red Sea. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie. 4: 465–171.
Kaga, T. 2013: Phylogenetic systematics of the family Sillaginidae (Percomorpha: order Perciformes). Zootaxa 3642(1): 1–105. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3642.1.1 Reference page.
Kaga, T.; Ho, H-c. 2012: Redescription of Sillago (Parasillago) indica McKay, Dutt & Sujatha, 1985 (Perciformes: Sillaginidae), with a reassignment to the subgenus Sillago. Zootaxa 3513: 61–67. Preview Reference page.
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. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1011.57302 Open access Reference page.

Links

Sillago – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Sillago species list in FishBase,
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds.) 2022. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 08/2021.

Vernacular names

Sillago is a genus of fish in the family Sillaginidae 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 bladder morphology 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, itself part of the Percoidea, a suborder of the Perciformes. 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:

Sillago aeolus D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1902 (Oriental sillago)
Sillago analis Whitley, 1943 (Golden-lined sillago)
Sillago arabica McKay & McCarthy, 1989 (Arabian sillago)
Sillago argentifasciata C. T. Martin & Montalban, 1935 (Silver-banded sillago)
Sillago asiatica McKay, 1982 (Asian sillago)
Sillago attenuata McKay, 1985 (Slender sillago)
Sillago bassensis G. Cuvier, 1829 (Western school sillago)
Sillago boutani Pellegrin, 1905 (Boutan's sillago)
Sillago burrus J. Richardson, 1842 (Western trumpeter sillago)
Sillago caudicula Kaga, Imamura & Nakaya, 2010 [5]
Sillago ciliata G. Cuvier, 1829 (Sand sillago)
Sillago flindersi McKay, 1985 (Flinders' sillago)
Sillago indica McKay, Dutt & Sujatha, 1985 (Indian sillago) [6]
Sillago ingenuua McKay, 1985 (Bay sillago)
Sillago intermedius Wongratana, 1977 (Intermediate sillago)
Sillago japonica Temminck & Schlegel, 1843 (Japanese sillago)
Sillago lutea McKay, 1985 (Mud sillago)
Sillago maculata Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 (Trumpeter sillago)
Sillago megacephalus S. Y. Lin, 1933 (Large-headed sillago)
Sillago microps McKay, 1985 (Small-eyed sillago)
Sillago nierstraszi Hardenberg, 1941 (Rough sillago)
Sillago nigrofasciata J. G. Xiao, Zheng-Sen Yu, Na Song & T. X. Gao, 2021[7]
Sillago parvisquamis T. N. Gill, 1861 (Small-scale sillago)
Sillago robusta Stead, 1908 (Stout sillago)
Sillago schomburgkii W. K. H. Peters, 1864 (Yellow-fin sillago)
Sillago shaoi T. X. Gao & J. G. Xiao, 2016 [8]
Sillago sihama (Forsskål, 1775) (Silver sillago)
Sillago sinica T. X. Gao, Ji , J. G. Xiao, T. Q. Xue, Yanagimoto & Setoguma, 2011 (Chinese sillago) [9]
Sillago soringa Dutt & Sujatha, 1982
Sillago suezensis Golani, R. Fricke & Tikochinski, 2013 [10]
Sillago vincenti McKay, 1980 (Vincent's sillago)
Sillago vittata McKay, 1985 (Banded sillago)

Relationship to humans

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.
References

Sepkoski, J.J.Jr (2002): A Compendium of Fossil Marine Animal Genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology, 363: 1-560.
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2016). Species of Sillago in FishBase. June 2016 version.
McKay, R.J. (1992). FAO Species Catalogue: (Vol. 14.) Sillaginid Fishes of The World (PDF). FAO. p. 87. ISBN 92-5-103123-1.
McKay, R.J. (1985): A revision of the fishes of the family Sillaginidae. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 22 (1): 1-73.
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.
Kaga, T. & Ho, H.-C. (2012): Redescription of Sillago (Parasillago) indica McKay, Dutt & Sujatha, 1985 (Perciformes: Sillaginidae), with a reassignment to the subgenus Sillago. Zootaxa, 3513: 61-67.
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
Xiao, J.-G., Song, N., Han, Z.-Q. & Gao, T.-X. (2016): Description and DNA Barcoding of a New Sillago species, Sillago shaoi (Perciformes: Sillaginidae), in the Taiwan Strait. Zoological Studies, 55 (47): 1-10.
Gao, T.-X., Ji, D.-P., Xiao, Y.-S., Xue, T.-Q., Yanagimoto, T. & Setoguma, T. (2011): Description and DNA Barcoding of a New Sillago Species, Sillago sinica (Perciformes: Sillaginidae), from Coastal Waters of China. Zoological Studies, 50 (2): 254-263.
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.