Northern Whiting, Sillago sihama (Forsskål 1775)
Other Names: Sand Smelt, Silver Sillago
A Northern Whiting, Sillago sihama, in Bali, Indonesia, April 2015. Source: zsispeo / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A variably coloured whiting ranging from light tan, silvery yellow-brown to sandy brown, or honey coloured, becomging paler below, with a silver midlateral stripe, dusky dorsal fins with or without rows of dark brown spots on the second dorsal-fin membranes, a dusky caudal fin, and often a whitish margin on the anal fin. There is no dark blotch on the pectoral-fin base.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2017, Sillago sihama in Fishes of Australia, accessed 09 Dec 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4243
Northern Whiting, Sillago sihama (Forsskål 1775)
More Info
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Distribution |
Broome, Western Australia, around the tropical north to about Mackay, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical Indo-west Pacific. Commonly inhabits shallow sandy areas along coastal shores, bays, harbours, mangrove-lined creeks and estuaries, occasionally entering the lowermost reaches of freshwater streams. |
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Feeding |
Feeds mostly on small crustaceans, polychaete worms, invertebrate larvae, blue-green algae and dinoflagellates. |
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Fisheries |
Taken with beach seines, hand lines and prawn trawls in parts of its range, and marketed fresh, frozen and dried salted - reportedly very good eating. |
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Remarks |
Golani et al. (2011, 2013) suggest that Sillago sihama is restricted to the southern Red Sea. |
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Species Citation |
Atherina sihama Forsskål 1775, Descriptiones animalium: 70. Type locality: Lohaja, Red Sea. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2017 |
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Resources |
Northern Whiting, Sillago sihama (Forsskål 1775)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & Allen, M. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 394 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls.
Bloch, M.E. & Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum. Berlin 584 pp. 110 pls. (described as Sciaena malabarica)
Cuvier, G.L. 1816. Le Règne Animal, distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction a l'anatomie comparée. Les reptiles et les poisons. Paris : Déterville Vol. 2 pp. 104-351 (described as Sillago acuta)
Forsskål, P. 1775. Descriptiones animalium Avium, Amphibiorum, Piscium, Insectorum, Vermium; quae in itinere orientali observavit Petrus Forskål. Post mortem auctoris edidit Carsten Niebuhr. Adjuncta est materia medica kahirina atque tabula maris rubri geographica. Hauniae : Mölleri 1-19, i-xxxiv, 164 pp., 43, pls.
Gill, T.N. 1862. Synopsis of the sillaginoids. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 13: 501-505.
Golani, D., Fricke, R. & Tikochinski, Y. 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: 465-471.
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: 1-16.
Kaga, T. & Ho, H. 2012. Redescription of Sillago (Parasillago) indica McKay, Dutt & Sujatha, 1985 (Perciformes: Sillaginidae), with a reassignment to the subgenus Sillago. Zootaxa 3513: 61-67.
Kato, M., Kohno, H. & Taki, Y. 1996. Juveniles of two sillaginids, Sillago aeolus and S. sihama, occurring in a surf zone in the Philippines. Ichthyological Research 43 (4): 431–439. doi:10.1007/BF02347640 Abstract
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.
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.
Sheaves, M. 2006. Scale-dependent variation in composition of fish fauna among sandy tropical estuarine embayments. Marine Ecology Progress Series 310: 173–184. doi:10.3354/meps310173 PDF available, open access
Smith-Vaniz, W.F. & Sparks, J.S. 2016. Sillago sihama. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T203423A2765049. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T203423A2765049.en. Downloaded on 30 March 2017.
