Sillago

 ( Extant Rupelian First Appearances ) 

Sillago is a genus of fish in the family Sillaginidae and the only non-monotypic genus in the family. 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 fishery 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 Indian Ocean-Pacific Ocean. 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 Archipelago and Australia. Many species have overlapping distribution, often making positive identification hard.

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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. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the Sillaginidae in the order Spariformes.

(2025). 9781118342336, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118342336

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.

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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 Georges Cuvier, 1829 (Western school sillago)
• Sillago boutani Pellegrin, 1905 (Boutan's sillago)
• Sillago burrus J. Richardson, 1842 (Western trumpeter sillago)
• Sillago caudicula Tatsuya Kaga, Hisashi Imamura & Kazuhiro Nakaya, 2010Kaga, 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.
• Sillago ciliata G. Cuvier, 1829 (Sand sillago)
• Sillago flindersi McKay, 1985 (Flinders' sillago)
• Sillago indica McKay, Dutt & Sujatha Kandula, 1985 (Indian sillago) 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.
• Sillago ingenuua McKay, 1985 (Bay sillago)
• Sillago intermedia Wongratana, 1977 (Intermediate sillago)
• Sillago japonica Temminck & Hermann Schlegel, 1843 (Japanese sillago)
• Sillago lutea McKay, 1985 (Mud sillago)
• Sillago maculata Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 (Trumpeter sillago)
• Sillago megacephalus Lin Shu-Yen, 1933 (Large-headed sillago)
• Sillago microps McKay, 1985 (Small-eyed sillago)
• Sillago nierstraszi Hardenberg, 1941 (Rough sillago)
• Sillago nigrofasciata Xiao Jia-Guang, Zheng-Sen Yu, Na Song & /ref> (Black-banded sillago)
• 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, 2016Xiao, 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.
• Sillago sihama (Forsskål, 1775) (Silver sillago)
• Sillago sinica T. X. Gao, Ji Dong-Ping, J. G. Xiao, Xue Tai-Qiang, Yanagimoto & Takumi Setoguma, 2011 (Chinese sillago) 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.
• Sillago soringa Dutt & Sujatha, 1982
• Sillago suezensis Daniel Golani, Ronald Fricke & Tikochinski, 2013Golani, 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.
• Sillago vincenti McKay, 1980 (Vincent's sillago)
• Sillago vittata McKay, 1985 (Banded sillago)

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Relationship to humans

Various species of this genus represent minor local fishery in their ranges, with many having commercial importance. Fish are taken by a variety of methods including seine net, gill net and fishing net as well as by angling. Recreational fishing for them is common, especially in Australia where they are valued as seafood or for bait fish 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. They can be very delicious when deep-fried.

Categories: Extant Rupelian First Appearances, Marine Fish Genera, Sillaginidae, Taxa Named By Georges Cuvier, Rupelian Genus First Appearances, Spariform Fish Genera