# Asian whiting
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{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Sillago asiatica2.jpg
| image_upright = 1.1
| taxon = Sillago asiatica
| authority = [McKay](/source/R._J._McKay), 1983
| range_map = S. asiatica distribution map.png
| range_map_caption = Range of the Asian whiting
}}
The '''Asian whiting''' ('''''Sillago asiatica''''') is a [species](/source/species) [inshore](/source/inshore) [marine](/source/marine_(ocean)) [fish](/source/fish) in the smelt whiting family, [Sillaginidae](/source/Sillaginidae), distributed along the [Asia](/source/Asia)n [coastline](/source/coastline) from the [Gulf of Thailand](/source/Gulf_of_Thailand) to [Taiwan](/source/Taiwan). The Asian whiting's appearance is very similar to other closely related species in the genus ''[Sillago](/source/Sillago)'', with [swim bladder](/source/swim_bladder) morphology and ray counts of [fin](/source/fin)s the most reliable identifying features. The species inhabits slightly deeper water than many of the sillaginid species its distribution overlaps, forming an important part of the whiting [fishery](/source/fishery) in the countries within its range.
==Taxonomy and naming==
The Asian whiting is one of over 30 species in the genus ''[Sillago](/source/Sillago)'',[{{FishBase genus|genus=Sillago|month=June|year=2023}}] which is one of five genera belonging to the smelt whiting family [Sillaginidae](/source/Sillaginidae), this family was previously considered to be part of the [Percoidea](/source/Percoidea), a [suborder](/source/suborder) of the [Perciformes](/source/Perciformes).[ The 5th edition of ''[Fishes of the World](/source/Fishes_of_the_World)'' classifies the Sillaginidae in the order [Spariformes](/source/Spariformes).][{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=[John Wiley & Sons](/source/John_Wiley_%26_Sons) |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}]
The species was described and named ''Sillago asiatica'' by McKay in 1983 based on the [holotype](/source/holotype) specimen taken from [Chantaburi](/source/Chantaburi) in the [Gulf of Thailand](/source/Gulf_of_Thailand) in 1975, with [paratype](/source/paratype)s from [Taiwan](/source/Taiwan) also examined. The species had been known from a small sample of ''Sillago'' species taken from Thailand but was considered to be a subspecies of [''S. japonica''](/source/Sillago_japonica) by the [biologist](/source/biologist)s who first examined it. A review of the holotype by McKay led to the correct identification, with the author noting that the swim bladder morphology and vertebrae count were beyond any [variation](/source/genetic_variation) in ''S. japonica''. The name is derived from 'Asiaticus', meaning Asiatic, which is also reflected in the species' common name.[{{cite journal |last=McKay |first=R.J. |year=1985 |title=A Revision of the Fishes of the Family Silaginidae |journal=Memoirs of the Queensland Museum |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=1–73 }}]
==Description==
The profile of the Asian whiting is typical of all members of the genus ''Sillago'', possessing an elongate, slightly compressed body covered in [ctenoid](/source/ctenoid) [scale](/source/scale_(zoology))s, tapering toward the terminal [mouth](/source/mouth).[{{FishBase | genus = Sillago | species = asiatica | year = 2007 | month = Jul }}] The head of the species is more dorsoventrally compressed that most other sillaginids, although more detailed analysis is needed to confirm the identity a [specimen](/source/Biological_specimen). The species has a known maximum size of 15 cm, making it one of the smaller smelt-whitings.[{{cite book | last = McKay | first = R.J. | title = FAO Species Catalogue: Vol. 14. Sillaginid Fishes of the World | publisher = Food and Agricultural Organisation | date = 1992 | url = ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/t0538e/t0538e06.pdf | location = Rome | pages = 19–20 | isbn = 92-5-103123-1}}]
The first [dorsal fin](/source/dorsal_fin) contains 11 [spine](/source/Fish_anatomy)s while the second has one spine and 20 or 21 [soft ray](/source/Fish_anatomy)s. The [anal fin](/source/anal_fin) has 2 spines with between 21 and 23 soft rays [posterior](/source/Anatomical_terms_of_location) to the spines. The [lateral line](/source/lateral_line) scales number between 67 and 70, while there are 34 [vertebrae](/source/vertebrae). The [swim bladder](/source/swim_bladder) morphology is also distinctive, with three [anterior](/source/Anatomical_terms_of_location) extensions, the middle one projecting forward and the anterolateral ones curving backward along the swim bladder. There is a single posterior extension toward the [caudal](/source/caudal_fin) region. A duct like process is present from the [ventral](/source/ventral) surface to the [urogenital](/source/urogenital) opening.[{{cite journal |last=Shao |first=K.T. |author2=S.C. Shen |author3=L.W. Chen |title=A newly recorded Sandborer, ''Sillago (Sillaginipodys) chondropus'' Bleeker, with a synopsis of the fishes of family Sillaginidae of Taiwan |journal=Bulletin of the Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica |volume=25 |pages=1410–1502 }}] The species may be even more widespread to the west into the [Indian Ocean](/source/Indian_Ocean), however it is often confused with ''[S. sihama](/source/Sillago_sihama)''. The Asian whiting inhabits slightly deeper water than many of the genus ''Sillago'', living in water between 10 and 50m deep, venturing into larger [estuaries](/source/estuaries) on occasion.[{{cite journal |last=Kuo |first=S.R. |author2=K.T. Shao |year=1999 |title=Species Composition of Fish in the Coastal Zones of the Tsengwen Estuary, with Descriptions of Five New Records from Taiwan |journal=Zoological Studies |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=391–404 |url=http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/38.4/391-404.pdf |archive-date=4 December 2008 |access-date=13 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204093753/http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/38.4/391-404.pdf |url-status=dead }}] Very little else is known about the species' [biology](/source/biology) or [ecology](/source/ecology).
==Relationship to humans==
{{see also|Smelt-whiting fishing}}
A number of smelt-whiting species are present throughout the range of the Asian whiting and are taken as [food](/source/food) for local [consumption](/source/ingestion). There is often no distinction between species and the total catch of the species is unknown, but it certainly makes up a proportion of the whiting taken.[{{cite book | last = McKay | first = R.J. | editor1 = Carpenter, K.E. |editor2=Niem, V.H. | title = FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes: The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific: Volume 4 Bony fishes, part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae) | publisher = Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations | date = 1999 | location = Rome | pages = 2069–2790 | isbn = 92-5-104301-9}}] The most important [fishery](/source/fishery) where the species is involved is in [Taiwan](/source/Taiwan).