Sand Whiting, Sillago ciliata Cuvier 1829


Other Names: Blue Nose Whiting, Bluenose Whiting, Blue-nose Whiting, Sand Sillago, Silver Whiting, Summer Whiting

A Sand Whiting, Sillago ciliata, between Shelly Beach and Fairy Bower, Manly, New South Wales, May 2017. Source: Erik Schlogl / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A uniformly silvery species with a dark blotch on the pectoral-fin base, especially in juveniles, and yellow anal and pelvic fins. Adults lack bars and blotches, although they may become mottled at night.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2023, Sillago ciliata in Fishes of Australia, accessed 08 Dec 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3693

Sand Whiting, Sillago ciliata Cuvier 1829

More Info


Distribution

Northern Cape York, Queensland, to northern Tasmania, and eastern Victoria; also the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia. 
Inhabits sandy areas in coastal bays, rivers, estuaries and coastal lakes. Large schools are often seen in the surf zone, on sand banks and near the mouths of rivers. Adults often form schools off estuary mouths. Individuals may bury themselves in sand to avoid predators.

Features

Dorsal spines XI + I,16-18; Anal fin II,15-17; Vertebrae 32-34. 
Anterior part of the swim bladder with rudimentary tubules projecting anteriorly and a series laterally that diminish in size and become sawtooth-like posteriorly. 

Feeding

Sand Whiting use their conical snouts to forage in the substrate to search for benthic invertebrates such as crustaceans, bivalve molluscs and polychaete worms.

Fisheries

An important commercial species and a highly prized angling fish weighing up to 1.25 kg.

Similar Species

The similar Yellowfin Whiting, Sillago schomburgkii, lacks the dark blotch on the pectoral-fin base.

Etymology

The specific name is from the Latin  (= ciliate) in reference to the finely serrated (ciliated) edge of the preoperculum.

Species Citation

Sillago ciliata Cuvier, in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 3: 415. Type locality: Southern Seas (probably Tasmania)

Author

Bray, D.J. 2023

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Sand Whiting, Sillago ciliata Cuvier 1829

References


Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2

Burchmore, J.J., Pollard, D.A., Middleton, M.J., Bell, J.D. & Pease, B.C. 1988. Biology of four species of whiting (Pisces: Sillaginidae) in Botany Bay, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 39(6): 709-727.

Butcher, A., Mayer, D., Willett, D., Johnston, M. & Smallwood, D. 2003. Scale pattern analysis is preferable to OTC marking of otoliths for differentiating between stocked and wild dusky flathead, Platycephalus fuscus, and sand whiting, Sillago ciliata. Fisheries Management and Ecology 10: 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2400.2003.00328.x

Castelnau, F.L. de 1878. Australian fishes, new or little known species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 2(3): 225-248 pls 1-2 

Cleland, K. 1947. Studies on the economic biology of the sand whiting (Sillago ciliata C. & V.). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 72(3-4): 215-228.

Coleman, N. 1980. Australian Sea Fishes South of 30ºS. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 309 pp.

Cuvier, G.L. & Valenciennes, A. 1829. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : Levrault Vol. 3 500 pp., pls 41-71. See ref at BHL

Dredge, M.C.L. 1976. Aspects of the ecology of three estuarine dwelling fish in south east Queensland. Unpub. MSc thesis, University of Queensland, 122 pp.
Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2 

Francis, M.P. 2019. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. figshare. Collection. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4428305.v2

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp. 

Hutchins, J.B. & Swainston, R. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete field guide for anglers and divers. Perth : Swainston Publishing 180 pp. 

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) 

Kailola, P.J., Williams, M.J., Stewart, P.C., Reichelt, R.E., McNee, A. & Grieve, C. 1993. Australian Fisheries Resources. Canberra : Bureau of Resource Sciences and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation 422 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.

Kuiter, R. & Kuiter, S. 2018. Coastal sea-fishes of south-eastern Australia. Seaford, Victoria : Aquatic Photographics, 371 pp.

Mazumder, D., Saintilan, N. & Williams, R.J. 2006. Fish assemblages in three tidal saltmarsh and mangrove flats in temperate NSW, Australia: a comparison based on species diversity and abundance. Wetlands Ecology and Management 14: 201-209.

McKay, R.J. 1985. A revision of the fishes of the family Sillaginidae. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 22(1): 1-73 figs 1-18 

McKay, R.J. 1992. FAO Species Catalog. Sillaginid fishes of the world (Family Sillaginidae) an annotated and illustrated catalogue of the Sillago, smelt of the Indo-Pacific whiting species. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125 Vol. 14. 1-87 pp. 

McKay, R.J. 1999. Family Sillaginidae. pp. 2614-2629 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.

Morton, R.M. 1985. The reproductive biology of summer whiting, Sillago ciliata C. & V., in northern Moreton Bay, Queensland. Australian Zoologist 21(6): 491-502.

Munro, I.S.R. 1945. Postlarval stages of Australian fishes - no. 1. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 12(3): 136-153.

Neira, F.J., Miskiewicz, A.G. & Trnski, T. 1998. Larvae of temperate Australian fishes: laboratory guide for larval fish identification. Nedlands, Western Australia : University of Western Australia press 474 pp.

Ochwada-Doyle, F.A., Stocks, J., Barnes, L. & Gray, C.A. 2014. Reproduction, growth and mortality of the exploited sillaginid, Sillago ciliata Cuvier, 1829. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 30(5): 870–880. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.12478

Pollock, B. & Williams, M.J. 1983. An assessment of the angling fishery of summer whiting, Sillago ciliata and S. analis, in Moreton Bay, Queensland from 1959-1980. Proceedings of the Royal Society of  Queensland 96: 19-23.

Prokop, F. 2002. Australian Fish Guide. Croydon South, Victoria : Australian Fishing Network 256 pp. 

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.

Roughley, T.C. 1957. Fish and Fisheries of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 341 pp. 

Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2

Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 2016. Sillago ciliata (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T69738986A115472623. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T69738986A69742659.en. Downloaded on 25 November 2020.

Stocks, J., Stewart, J., Gray, C.A. & West, R.J. 2011. Using otolith increment widths to infer spatial, temporal and gender variation in the growth of sand whiting Sillago ciliata. Fisheries Management and Ecology 18: 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2400.2010.00761.x

Weng, H.T. 1983. Identification, habitats and seasonal occurrence of juvenile whiting (Sillaginidae) in Moreton Bay, Queensland. Journal of Fish Biology 23: 195–200. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1983.tb02894.x

Weng, H.T. 1986. Spatial and temporal distribution of whiting (Sillaginidae) in Moreton Bay, Queensland. Journal of Fish Biology 29: 755–764. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1986.tb04991.x

Yearsley, G.K., Last, P.R. & Ward, R.D. (eds) 1999. Australian Seafood Handbook. Hobart : CSIRO Marine Research 460 pp.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37330010

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:0-40 m

Fishing:Recreational fish

Habitat:Estuaries, coastal sandy areas

Max Size:55 cm TL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map