Mud whiting
Encyclopedia
The mud whiting, Sillago lutea, is a species of coastal marine
fish
in the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae
. The mud whiting was first described in 1985 and is currently known from the north west coast of Australia
and the India
n coast.
As its name suggests, mud whiting prefer mud
dy or silt
y substrates, and are commonly found in association with the banana prawn. Due to this relationship, Australian prawn trawlers take large quantities of the species, but it is currently not market
ed.
in the genus
Sillago
, which is one of three genera in the smelt-whiting family
Sillaginidae
. The smelt-whitings are Perciformes
in the suborder Percoidea
.
The species was scientifically
examined by Dutt and Sujatha their revision of the sillaginid fishes of India
and incorrectly assigned the specimen
to the preexisting species Sillago macrolepis. Roland McKay reexamined the species during his revision of the Sillaginidae, determining it to be a new species and naming it Sillago lutea. A specimen collected from Exmouth Gulf
in Western Australia
was assigned to be the holotype
for the species. The binomial name of "lutea" is derived from the Latin
meaning "belonging to mud
", also reflected in the common name
in reference to its preferred 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 20 to 22 soft rays posterior. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, but has 2 spines with 21 to 23 soft rays posterior to the spines. Other distinguishing features include 67 to 72 lateral line
scales and a total of 33 to 35 vertebrae. The species has a known maximum length of over 16 cm.
The swim bladder is similar to the Japanese whiting
, characterised by a short central anterior extension with two anteriorly facing anterolateral projections, which may be well or poorly developed. There is a single median posterior extension. The duct like process on the ventral surface of the swim bladder is present.
The colour of the fish is a light sandy brown above, with a paler brown to white on the underside and a poorly defined silvery mid-lateral band. The scale
margins are occasionally slightly darker than the centres, giving a vague mesh-like appearance above the lateral line. All the fins are transparent, the only exception being the spinous dorsal fin which has a dusting of fine black spots. There is no dark spot at the base of the pectoral fin, another feature used to distinguish between sillaginid species.
from Exmouth Gulf
in Western Australia
to the eastern Gulf of Carpentaria
and the Arafura Sea
, as well as the coasts of India
and Sri Lanka
.
Mud whiting are commonly associated with the banana prawn, Penaeus merguiensis de Man in northern Australia, and inhabit most mud
dy or very silt
y substrates. Mud whiting occur in a range of depths, from 0 to 60 m. The species reaches sexual maturity
at 10 cm.
at present. Minor amounts of the fish are also taken by trawlers on the north coast of Australia from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Exmouth Gulf. McKay suggests the species could form the basis of a small bycatch fishery, to be exported ungutted.
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...
in 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 mud whiting was first described in 1985 and is currently known from the north west coast of 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...
and 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...
n coast.
As its name suggests, mud whiting prefer mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
dy or silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
y substrates, and are commonly found in association with the banana prawn. Due to this relationship, Australian prawn trawlers take large quantities of the species, but it is currently not market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
ed.
Taxonomy and naming
The mud 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 genera in 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 Percoidea
Percoidea
Percoidea is a superfamily of fish of the order Perciformes....
.
The species was scientifically
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
examined by Dutt and Sujatha their revision of the sillaginid fishes of 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 incorrectly assigned the specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
to the preexisting species Sillago macrolepis. Roland McKay reexamined the species during his revision of the Sillaginidae, determining it to be a new species and naming it Sillago lutea. A specimen collected from Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the region of the North West Shelf and in the Canning Basin area.-Environment:...
in Western Australia
Western 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...
was assigned to be 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...
for the species. The binomial name of "lutea" 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...
meaning "belonging to mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
", also reflected in the 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...
in reference to its preferred habitat.
Description
As with most of the genus Sillago, the mud 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 20 to 22 soft rays posterior. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, but has 2 spines with 21 to 23 soft rays posterior to the spines. Other distinguishing features include 67 to 72 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 to 35 vertebrae. The species has a known maximum length of over 16 cm.
The swim bladder is similar to the Japanese whiting
Japanese whiting
The Japanese whiting, Sillago japonica, is a common species of coastal marine fish belonging to the smelt-whiting family, Sillaginidae...
, characterised by a short central anterior extension with two anteriorly facing anterolateral projections, which may be well or poorly developed. There is a single median posterior extension. The duct like process on the ventral surface of the swim bladder is present.
The colour of the fish is a light sandy brown above, with a paler brown to white on the underside and a poorly defined silvery mid-lateral band. The scale
Scale (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...
margins are occasionally slightly darker than the centres, giving a vague mesh-like appearance above the lateral line. All the fins are transparent, the only exception being the spinous dorsal fin which has a dusting of fine black spots. There is no dark spot at the base of the pectoral fin, another feature used to distinguish between sillaginid species.
Distribution and habitat
The mud whiting is known to inhabit two regions, the north west coast of AustraliaAustralia
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 Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the region of the North West Shelf and in the Canning Basin area.-Environment:...
in Western Australia
Western 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...
to the eastern Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
and the Arafura Sea
Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean overlying the continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea.-Geography:The Arafura Sea is bordered by Torres Strait and through that the Coral Sea to the east, the Gulf of Carpentaria to the south, the Timor Sea to the west and the Banda and Ceram...
, as well as the coasts of 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 Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
Mud whiting are commonly associated with the banana prawn, Penaeus merguiensis de Man in northern Australia, and inhabit most mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
dy or very silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
y substrates. Mud whiting occur in a range of depths, from 0 to 60 m. The species reaches sexual maturity
Sexual maturity
Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism can reproduce. It is sometimes considered synonymous with adulthood, though the two are distinct...
at 10 cm.
Relationship to humans
Mud whiting are most often taken by trawl nets, with large amounts taken by prawn trawlers but as the species grows to only 16 cm, the catch is of no commercial importanceFishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
at present. Minor amounts of the fish are also taken by trawlers on the north coast of Australia from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Exmouth Gulf. McKay suggests the species could form the basis of a small bycatch fishery, to be exported ungutted.