Oriental trumpeter whiting
Encyclopedia
The oriental trumpeter whiting, Sillago aeolus, is a widely distributed species of benthic inshore fish in the smelt-whiting
family. The species ranges from east Africa
to Japan
, inhabiting much if the southern Asian and Indonesian coastlines. Its morphology is very similar to other species within the genus
Sillago
, with a long, compressed body and silvery overall colour. It can be distinguished from its relatives by colour patterns and particularly swim bladder morphology, which helps define most species of Sillago. S aeolus is a benthic predator, consuming a variety of crustacean
s and polychaete
s. As with most members of the smelt whiting family, it is important to small coastal fisheries
in various areas of its range.
, which is one of three divisions of the smelt whiting family Sillaginidae
. The smelt-whitings are Perciformes
in the suborder Percoidei
.
The oriental trumpeter whiting was first officially identified and named Sillago aeolus by Jordan and Evermann in 1902 from the holotype collected in Taiwan, after a number of taxonomists
had misidentified the species as Sillago macrolepis (Bleeker) or Sillago maculata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). S. aeolus has a number of common names in different countries, with the most common, oriental trumpeter whiting derived from the fact the species has a similar colour and pattern to the Trumpeter whiting, Sillago maculata. Other names commonly applied to S. aeolus include Hoshi-gisu (Japan
), Ebi (Malaysia), Oso-so (Philippines
) and 'Asuhos'.
extending to the cheek and head. The first dorsal fin
has 11 spines and the second dorsal fin has 1 leading spine with 18 to 20 soft rays posterior. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, but has 2 spines with 17 to 19 (usually 18) soft rays posterior to the spines. Other distinguishing features include 67 to 72 lateral line
scales and a total of 34 vertebrae.
Swim bladder morphology is the most effective way to distinguish it between related species S. maculata and S. burrus
. The swim bladder has three anterolateral extensions; not four and it differs from S. maculata in lacking well developed anterolateral extensions reaching to the level of the vent.
The colour of the oriental trumpeter whiting is similar to both S. burrus and S. maculata, having blotches that are like oblique
bars, but the most posterior mid-lateral dark brown blotch is elongate and reaches caudal flexure. The blotches are not connected as in S. maculata. The belly is silvery to grey coloured.
region. The western most sighting of the species was in Delagoa Bay, South Africa
, with its range extending up the east Africa
n coast
and to the West Indies, but it has never been recorded near the Indian
mainland. The species is most prolific in the South East Asian region, with positive identifications from Singapore
, Hong Kong
, Philippines
, Thailand
, Malaysia, Indonesia
, Taiwan
and up to Japan
. S. aeolus has also never been recorded in New Guinea
or Australia
.
The habitat of the oriental trumpeter whiting is largely unknown, but it's known to live in inshore coastal waters, commonly in embayments on silt
y bottoms in water depths from 0 - 60m depth. Juvenile
s often enter the surf zone
of beach
es, mixing with juveniles from other species of Sillago.
to an adult
. Juveniles primarily eat small zooplankton
, such as calanoid copepod
s while adults tend to consume larger benthic prey, such as polychaete
s, shrimp
s, and crab
s. Examination of the gut of adults has shown the latter three items were the most important prey, together constituting more than 70% of stomach contents by volume. There does not appear to be any season
al shift in diet in either juveniles or adults of the species.
Oriental trumpeter whiting are reproductively mature
at around 130mm in 50% of fish, with the minimum a length of 113mm in males and 109mm in females. They are multiple spawn
ers, that spawn continuously throughout the year with peaks in reproduction that appear to vary geographically. Studies in Thailand indicate the peak is between July and December, while studies in Japan show a peak in February to May. Otolith
studies show both females and males attained 60% and 91% of individuals at maturity respectively at the end of their first year of life. The attainment of large size by the end of the first year of life is of considerable advantage, since many individuals do not survive until the end of their second year.
It is a commercial fish in Southern Japan, where most of the fish are caught by gill net for local consumption. As opposed to most areas, the species is well known for its delicate texture in Japan.
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...
family. The species ranges from east Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, inhabiting much if the southern Asian and Indonesian coastlines. Its morphology is very similar to other species within 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...
, with a long, compressed body and silvery overall colour. It can be distinguished from its relatives by colour patterns and particularly swim bladder morphology, which helps define most species of Sillago. S aeolus is a benthic predator, consuming a variety of crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s and 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. As with most members of the smelt whiting family, it is important to small coastal fisheries
Fishery
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,...
in various areas of its range.
Taxonomy and naming
The oriental trumpeter whiting is one of 29 species in the genus SillagoSillago
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 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 oriental trumpeter whiting was first officially identified and named Sillago aeolus by Jordan and Evermann in 1902 from the holotype collected in Taiwan, after a number of taxonomists
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...
had misidentified the species as Sillago macrolepis (Bleeker) or Sillago maculata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). S. aeolus has a number of common names in different countries, with the most common, oriental trumpeter whiting derived from the fact the species has a similar colour and pattern to the Trumpeter whiting, Sillago maculata. Other names commonly applied to S. aeolus include Hoshi-gisu (Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
), Ebi (Malaysia), Oso-so (Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
) and 'Asuhos'.
Description
As with most of the genus Sillago, the oriental trumpeter whiting has an slightly compressed, elongate body tapering toward the terminal mouth, reaching a maximum overall length of 30 cm. 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 cheek 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 18 to 20 soft rays posterior. The anal fin is similar to the second dorsal fin, but has 2 spines with 17 to 19 (usually 18) 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 34 vertebrae.
Swim bladder morphology is the most effective way to distinguish it between related species S. maculata and S. burrus
Western trumpeter whiting
The western trumpeter whiting, Sillago burrus, is a species of marine fish of the smelt whiting family Sillaginidae that is commonly found along the northern coast of Australia and in southern Indonesia and New Guinea...
. The swim bladder has three anterolateral extensions; not four and it differs from S. maculata in lacking well developed anterolateral extensions reaching to the level of the vent.
The colour of the oriental trumpeter whiting is similar to both S. burrus and S. maculata, having blotches that are like oblique
Oblique
Oblique may refer to:*Oblique angle, in geometry, an angle that is not a multiple of 90 degrees*Oblique angle, synonym for Dutch angle, a cinematographic technique*Oblique , by jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson...
bars, but the most posterior mid-lateral dark brown blotch is elongate and reaches caudal flexure. The blotches are not connected as in S. maculata. The belly is silvery to grey coloured.
Distribution and habitat
The oriental trumpeter whiting has a wide distribution, inhabiting many areas of the Indo-PacificIndo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
region. The western most sighting of the species was in Delagoa Bay, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, with its range extending up the east Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
and to the West Indies, but it has never been recorded near the Indian
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
mainland. The species is most prolific in the South East Asian region, with positive identifications from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, 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...
, Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, 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 up to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. S. aeolus has also never been recorded in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
or 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...
.
The habitat of the oriental trumpeter whiting is largely unknown, but it's known to live in inshore coastal waters, commonly in embayments on 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 bottoms in water depths from 0 - 60m depth. Juvenile
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
s often enter the surf zone
Surf zone
As ocean surface waves come closer to shore they break, forming the foamy, bubbly surface we call surf. The region of breaking waves defines the surf zone. After breaking in the surf zone, the waves continue to move in, and they run up onto the sloping front of the beach, forming an uprush of...
of beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es, mixing with juveniles from other species of Sillago.
Biology
The diet of S. aeolus changes as the fish progresses from a juvenileJuvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
to an adult
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
. Juveniles primarily eat small zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
, such as calanoid 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 while adults tend to consume larger benthic prey, such as 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, 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...
s, and 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. Examination of the gut of adults has shown the latter three items were the most important prey, together constituting more than 70% of stomach contents by volume. There does not appear to be any season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
al shift in diet in either juveniles or adults of the species.
Oriental trumpeter whiting are reproductively mature
Mature
Mature is the adjectival form of maturity, which has several meanings.Mature may also refer to:*"Mature 17+", a rating in the Entertainment Software Rating Board video game rating system*Mature, a character from The King of Fighters series...
at around 130mm in 50% of fish, with the minimum a length of 113mm in males and 109mm in females. They are multiple spawn
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
ers, that spawn continuously throughout the year with peaks in reproduction that appear to vary geographically. Studies in Thailand indicate the peak is between July and December, while studies in Japan show a peak in February to May. Otolith
Otolith
An otolith, , also called statoconium or otoconium is a structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular labyrinth of vertebrates. The saccule and utricle, in turn, together make the otolith organs. They are sensitive to gravity and linear acceleration...
studies show both females and males attained 60% and 91% of individuals at maturity respectively at the end of their first year of life. The attainment of large size by the end of the first year of life is of considerable advantage, since many individuals do not survive until the end of their second year.
Relationship to humans
Throughout the oriental trumpeter whiting's range, it is often caught in trawls and is of minor importance to local fisheries. The flesh spoils easily and is not as highly rated as other sillaginids.It is a commercial fish in Southern Japan, where most of the fish are caught by gill net for local consumption. As opposed to most areas, the species is well known for its delicate texture in Japan.