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{{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 = [[R. J. McKay|McKay]], [[Someshwar Dutt Pathak|Dutt]] & [[Sujatha Kandula|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 (ocean)|marine]] [[fish]] of the smelt-whiting [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Sillaginidae]].<ref name = IUCN/><ref name = Fishbase/> The species was named in 1985, having previously being misidentified as another species of ''[[Sillago]]'', ''[[Sillago parvisquamis|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 [[coauthor]]s 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 name|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]] [[Scale (zoology)|scales]] extending to the [[cheek]] and head. The first [[dorsal fin]] has 11 [[Fish anatomy#Spines and rays|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 [[Anatomical terms of location#Anterior and posterior|anterior]] extensions, while the anterolateral extensions are recurved and extend to the ventral duct. There is a single [[Anatomical terms of location#Anterior and posterior|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 [[Operculum (fish)|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, [[Abdomen|belly]] and lower sides are covered in a sprinkling of black spots. The interspinous [[Biological membrane|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 [[:wikt:depth|depth]]s 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 [[Net casting|cast net]] by local fisheries, and by [[trawl|mini trawler]]s.<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>
}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2450782}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:whiting, Indian}}
[[Category:Sillago|Indian sillago]]
[[Category:Fish of the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Fish of India]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1985|Indian sillago]]

Indian sillago - Revision history

Haresh Kathrotiya: new.