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Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Sillaginidae (Smelt-whitings)
Etymology: Sillago: From a locality in Australia.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; non-migratory; depth range 10 - 50 m (Ref. 6205). Tropical; 28°N - 4°N, 98°E - 125°E (Ref. 6205)
Western Pacific: Taiwan to the Gulf of Thailand. This species is possibly widespread. Sillago soringa is almost certainly a senior synonym of Sillago asiatica.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 137577)
Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20 - 21; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 21 - 23; Vertebrae: 34. The swim bladder with three anterior extensions, the middle one projecting forward and the anterolateral ones recurved backward along the swim bladder; only single posterior extension is present. The head and body pale sandy brown to light fawn; belly is paler, almost white. An indistinct pale mid-lateral stripe is present on some specimens. The opercle and preopercle are transparent with a crescentic patch of black-brown spots in a pigmented area the shape of the gill arches on the inside of the gill cover, and showing through. The fins are hyaline; the margins of the unpaired fins finely spotted with brown; the upper and lower margin of the caudal fin dark brown to almost black.
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: circular.
Occur in inshore waters. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Taken as an incidental catch with other sillaginid species (Ref. 9679).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
McKay, R.J., 1992. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 14. Sillaginid fishes of the world (family Sillaginidae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the sillago, smelt or Indo-Pacific whiting species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(14):87p. (Ref. 6205)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
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