Bay whiting
Encyclopedia
The bay whiting, Sillago ingenuua, is a species of coastal marine
fish
of the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae
. The bay whiting's range extends throughout the west Indian Ocean
, including northern Australia
, Thailand
, India
and Taiwan
, where it inhabits protected waters. It is benthic in nature, preying on shrimps, polychaete
s and molluscs, however little else is known of its biology. Bay whiting are an important part of some inshore fisheries around Australia and Asia
, where subsistence and commercial fishermen regularly take the species.
in the genus
Sillago
, which is one of three divisions of the smelt whiting family
Sillaginidae
. The smelt-whitings are Perciformes
in the suborder Percoidei
.
The species was first identified and named Sillago ingenuua by Roland McKay in his comprehensive 1985 review of the Sillaginidae family, with the holotype
collected near Chantaburi, in the Gulf of Thailand
in 1975. Prior to this official naming, the species had been misidentified as Sillago argentifasciata by Shao and Chang in 1978 and again in 1980 by Dutt and Sujatha. The binomial name is derived from the Latin
ingenuus, meaning "freeborn", in reference to Thailand where the holotype was collected. The only common name
, bay whiting is in reference to the species usual habitat
.
extending to the two rows of cheek
scales and head. The first dorsal fin
has 11 spines and the second dorsal fin has 1 leading spine with 17 soft rays posterior. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, but has 2 spines with 17 soft rays posterior to the spines. Other distinguishing features include 66 to 70 lateral line
scales and a total of 33 vertebrae. The species has a known maximum length of 20 cm.
The swim bladder has a short anterior extension, which is significantly longer in older individuals, while there are also 5 short, pointed anterolateral projections. There is a single, poorly developed posterior projection and a poorly developed duct
like process on the ventral surface.
The bay whiting has a pale sandy brown head
and body, ranging to a light fawn with no obvious mid-lateral silvery band as in S. argentifasciata. All fins are hyaline
in appearance, and the pectoral fin has no dark spot at the base. Th operculum
is almost clear, with the inner dark brown surface showing through. The tip of the nose is occasionally dark.
, India
, Taiwan
and northern Australia
from Shark Bay
around the northern coast to Adolphus Passage, north-eastern Queensland
. McKay suggests that it may be far more widespread, but commonly misidentified as S. argentifasciata, or in the case of small subsistence fisheries, has not been reported at all.
The species inhabits inshore coastal waters, and is known from depths between 20 and 50 m. Bay whiting, like many other sillaginids are known to inhabit estuaries, but little research has been done on their habitat preference.
of bay whiting has been the focus of a study investigating trophic
relations between this species, Sillago sihama, and other similarly distributed fish of the South China Sea
. In this location, it was found bay whiting predominantly prey on a variety of shrimp
species, polychaete
worms and Mantis shrimp
, with minor amounts of crab
s, sea urchin
s, bivalves and copepod
s. Unlike other species of sillaginid, the bay whiting doesn't have a large dietary shift as it moves to adulthood, causing parents to compete
with offspring to an extent. The diet is, however, offset from the co-occurring S. sihama, preventing significant competition
from this species.
and southward to Shark Bay. This species is very commonly trawled near Torres Strait
s to the north of Queensland
. It is also one of the most important species to traditional and minor commercial fisheries along the Asia
n coast. It is marketed fresh throughout its range. Bay whiting are occasionally caught by recreational fishermen
, with the largest recorded fish caught by an angler
weighing only 0.047 kg.
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
of the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae
Sillaginidae
The Sillaginidae, commonly known as the smelt-whitings, whitings, sillaginids, sand borers and sand-smelts, are a family of benthic coastal marine fishes in the order Perciformes. The smelt-whitings inhabit a wide region covering much of the Indo-Pacific, from the west coast of Africa east to Japan...
. The bay whiting's range extends throughout the west Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, including northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, where it inhabits protected waters. It is benthic in nature, preying on shrimps, polychaete
Polychaete
The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
s and molluscs, however little else is known of its biology. Bay whiting are an important part of some inshore fisheries around Australia and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, where subsistence and commercial fishermen regularly take the species.
Taxonomy and naming
The bay whiting is one of 29 speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Sillago
Sillago
Sillago is one of three genera in the family Sillaginidae containing the smelt-whitings, and contains 29 species, making Sillago the only non-monotypic genus in the family. Distinguishing among Sillago species can be difficult, with many similar in appearance and colour, forcing the use of swim...
, which is one of three divisions of the smelt whiting family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Sillaginidae
Sillaginidae
The Sillaginidae, commonly known as the smelt-whitings, whitings, sillaginids, sand borers and sand-smelts, are a family of benthic coastal marine fishes in the order Perciformes. The smelt-whitings inhabit a wide region covering much of the Indo-Pacific, from the west coast of Africa east to Japan...
. The smelt-whitings are Perciformes
Perciformes
The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, is one of the largest orders of vertebrates, containing about 40% of all bony fish. Perciformes means perch-like. They belong to the class of ray-finned fish and comprise over 7,000 species found in almost all aquatic environments...
in the suborder Percoidei
Percoidei
Percoidei is one of eighteen suborders of bony fish in the order Perciformes. Many commercially harvested fish species are contained in this suborder, including the snappers, jacks, whitings, groupers, bass, perches and porgies.-Divisions:...
.
The species was first identified and named Sillago ingenuua by Roland McKay in his comprehensive 1985 review of the Sillaginidae family, with the holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
collected near Chantaburi, in the Gulf of Thailand
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...
in 1975. Prior to this official naming, the species had been misidentified as Sillago argentifasciata by Shao and Chang in 1978 and again in 1980 by Dutt and Sujatha. The binomial name is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ingenuus, meaning "freeborn", in reference to Thailand where the holotype was collected. The only common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
, bay whiting is in reference to the species usual habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
.
Description
As with most of the genus Sillago, the bay whiting has a slightly compressed, elongate body tapering toward the terminal mouth. The body is covered in small ctenoid scalesScale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
extending to the two rows of cheek
Cheek
Cheeks constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. They may also be referred to as jowls. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve...
scales and head. The first dorsal fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
has 11 spines and the second dorsal fin has 1 leading spine with 17 soft rays posterior. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, but has 2 spines with 17 soft rays posterior to the spines. Other distinguishing features include 66 to 70 lateral line
Lateral line
The lateral line is a sense organ in aquatic organisms , used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water. Lateral lines are usually visible as faint lines running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill covers to the base of the tail...
scales and a total of 33 vertebrae. The species has a known maximum length of 20 cm.
The swim bladder has a short anterior extension, which is significantly longer in older individuals, while there are also 5 short, pointed anterolateral projections. There is a single, poorly developed posterior projection and a poorly developed duct
Duct (anatomy)
In anatomy and physiology, a duct is a circumscribed channel leading from an exocrine gland or organ.-Types of ducts:Examples include:-Duct system:...
like process on the ventral surface.
The bay whiting has a pale sandy brown head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
and body, ranging to a light fawn with no obvious mid-lateral silvery band as in S. argentifasciata. All fins are hyaline
Hyaline
The term hyaline denotes a substance with a glass-like appearance.-Histopathology:In histopathological medical usage, a hyaline substance appears glassy and pink after being stained with haematoxylin and eosin — usually it is an acellular, proteinaceous material...
in appearance, and the pectoral fin has no dark spot at the base. Th operculum
Operculum (fish)
The operculum of a bony fish is the hard bony flap covering and protecting the gills. In most fish, the rear edge of the operculum roughly marks the division between the head and the body....
is almost clear, with the inner dark brown surface showing through. The tip of the nose is occasionally dark.
Distribution and habitat
The bay whiting is known from a fairly patchy distribution, inhabiting the Gulf of ThailandGulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from Shark Bay
Shark Bay, Western Australia
Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. It is an area centred approximately on , 800 kilometres north of Perth, on the westernmost point of Australia. An expedition led by Dirk Hartog happened upon the area in 1616, becoming the second group of Europeans...
around the northern coast to Adolphus Passage, north-eastern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. McKay suggests that it may be far more widespread, but commonly misidentified as S. argentifasciata, or in the case of small subsistence fisheries, has not been reported at all.
The species inhabits inshore coastal waters, and is known from depths between 20 and 50 m. Bay whiting, like many other sillaginids are known to inhabit estuaries, but little research has been done on their habitat preference.
Diet
The dietDiet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
of bay whiting has been the focus of a study investigating trophic
Trophic level
The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food chain. The word trophic derives from the Greek τροφή referring to food or feeding. A food chain represents a succession of organisms that eat another organism and are, in turn, eaten themselves. The number of steps an organism...
relations between this species, Sillago sihama, and other similarly distributed fish of the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. In this location, it was found bay whiting predominantly prey on a variety of shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
species, polychaete
Polychaete
The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
worms and Mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are marine crustaceans, the members of the order Stomatopoda. They are neither shrimp nor mantids, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. They may reach in length, although exceptional cases of...
, with minor amounts of crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s, sea urchin
Sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
s, bivalves and copepod
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are planktonic , some are benthic , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests,...
s. Unlike other species of sillaginid, the bay whiting doesn't have a large dietary shift as it moves to adulthood, causing parents to compete
Intraspecific competition
Intraspecific competition is a particular form of competition in which members of the same species vie for the same resource in an ecosystem...
with offspring to an extent. The diet is, however, offset from the co-occurring S. sihama, preventing significant competition
Interspecific competition
Interspecific competition, in ecology, is a form of competition in which individuals of different species compete for the same resource in an ecosystem...
from this species.
Relationship to humans
The bay whiting is often taken by trawlers operating on the northwest shelf of Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and southward to Shark Bay. This species is very commonly trawled near Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
s to the north of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. It is also one of the most important species to traditional and minor commercial fisheries along the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n coast. It is marketed fresh throughout its range. Bay whiting are occasionally caught by recreational fishermen
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, with the largest recorded fish caught by an angler
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
weighing only 0.047 kg.