{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Sillago indica.jpg | status = DD | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Heemstra, P.C. |author2=Lang, N. |year=2010 |errata=2017 |title=''Sillago indica'' |volume=2010 |article-number=e.T154955A115255868 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T154955A4676523.en |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref> | taxon = Sillago indica | authority = McKay, Dutt & Sujatha, 1985 | synonyms = *''Sillago parvisquamis'' <small>Dutt & Sujatha, 1980</small> | range_map = S. indica distribution.png | range_map_caption = Range of the Indian sillago }}
'''''Sillago indica''''', the '''Indian sillago''', is a poorly known species of coastal marine fish of the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae.<ref name = IUCN/><ref name = Fishbase/> The species was named in 1985, having previously being misidentified as another species of ''Sillago'', ''S. parvisquamis''.<ref name = "McKay1985"/> The Indian sillago inhabits the coasts of the Indian subcontinent and Oman.<ref name = IUCN/> Like all sillaginids,<ref name = "McKay1985"/> it is benthic in nature, living in depths to 30 m where it is caught by fishermen alongside other species of ''Sillago''.<ref name = IUCN/>
==Taxonomy and naming== The Indian sillago is one of over 30 species in the genus ''Sillago'',<ref name = Fishbase2>{{FishBase genus|genus=Sillago|month=February|year=2024}}</ref> which is one of five genera belonging to the smelt whiting family Sillaginidae, this family was previously considered to be part of the Percoidea, a suborder of the Perciformes.<ref name=McKay1985/> The 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' classifies the Sillaginidae in the order Spariformes.<ref name = Nelson5>{{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 |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}</ref>
The species was first named by McKay in his comprehensive review of the Sillaginidae, with coauthors Dutt and Sujatha contributing the section on ''S. indica''. The species was previously misidentified as ''Sillago parvisquamis'' by the latter two authors in earlier publications, with McKay pointing out the only noticeable difference between the two is the swim bladder morphology, as well as an indistinct black band in the side of the fish.<ref name = "McKay1985">{{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 }}</ref> For this reason, the fish goes unidentified in most catches, usually referred to as a number of other sillaginids. The species binomial and common name reflects the species geographical distribution, being at the time known from India only.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ramesh | first = S. | author2 = P.S. Lyla | title = Species (Animals) Named After India | volume = 11 | issue = 2 |page=11 | journal = Seshaiyana: ENVIS Newsletter on Estuaries, Mangroves, Coral Reefs and Lagoons | year = 2003 | url = http://casmbenvis.nic.in/pdf/Seshaiyana11-2.pdf | access-date = 2008-07-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090410014112/http://www.casmbenvis.nic.in/pdf/Seshaiyana11-2.pdf | archive-date = 2009-04-10 }}</ref>
==Description== As with other sillagids, the Indian sillago has an elongate body with a long conical snout, and a long soft dorsal and anal fin. The body is covered in small ctenoid scales extending to the cheek and head. The first dorsal fin has 11 spines and the second dorsal fin has 1 leading spine with 21 to 22 soft rays posterior. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, but has 2 spines with 22 to 23 soft rays posterior to the spines. Other distinguishing features include 68 to 70 lateral line scales and a total of 34 vertebrae.<ref name = "McKayFAO" >{{cite book |last=McKay |first=Roland J. |title=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 |year=1992 |publisher=FAO |location=Rome |series=FAO Fisheries Synopsis |volume=125/7/1 |isbn=978-92-5-102340-2 |pages=45–46 |url=https://www.fao.org/4/t0538e/t0538e00.htm }} [https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/ocrd/255676.pdf pdf]</ref> The species has a known maximum total length of 34 cm.<ref name = Fishbase/>
The swim bladder is quite distinct, having a bifurcate anterior extensions, while the anterolateral extensions are recurved and extend to the ventral duct. There is a single posterior extension.<ref name = "McKay1985"/>
The colour of the Indian sillago is a light tan with a dark brown—blackish band starting behind the upper part of the opercle and curving down below lateral line for approximately two thirds the length and continuing slightly or directly on the lateral line as a broken band or elongate spots. The head, cheeks, belly and lower sides are covered in a sprinkling of black spots. The interspinous membrane of the first dorsal fin, the individual soft rays and the caudal fin are also spotted, with the caudal fin heavily spotted.<ref name = "McKay1985"/>
==Distribution and habitat== As suggested by its name, the Indian sillago was first known from India.<ref name = "McKay1985"/> It is now also known from the coast of Oman.<ref name = IUCN/> The species inhabits inshore coastal waters in a range of depths from 0 to 30 m.<ref name = IUCN/><ref name = "McKayFAO" /> Due to its relatively recent naming and difficulty of identification, very little knowledge on the biology of the species has been collected.<ref name = "McKayFAO" />
==Relationship to humans== Like all other species of ''Sillago'', the Indian sillago is taken amongst inshore catches but not distinguished from other sillaginids, with no specific information available on the fishery. It is often taken by drift net, shore seine and cast net by local fisheries, and by mini trawlers.<ref name = "somethiing">{{cite journal |last=Dutt |first=S. |author2=K. Sujatha |year=1980 |title=On the seven species of fishes of the family Sillaginidae from Indian waters |journal=Mahasagar: Bulletin of the National Institute of Oceanography |volume=13 |pages=371–375 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase | genus = Sillago | species = indica | year = 2024 | month = February }}</ref> }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:whiting, Indian}} Indian sillago Category:Fish of the Indian Ocean Category:Fish of India Indian sillago