The golden lined whiting, ''Sillago analis'' (also known as the Tin Can Bay whiting or rough-scale whiting), is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

inshore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing 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. Approximately 95% of li ...

of the smelt whiting family,

Sillaginidae The Sillaginidae, commonly known as the smelt-whitings, whitings, sillaginids, sand borers and sand-smelts, are a family of benthic coastal marine fish in the order Perciformes. The smelt-whitings inhabit a wide region covering much of the Indo ...

that inhabits the

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

s of northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and lower

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The golden lined whiting can be more readily distinguished by its colour than other whitings in the genus ''Sillago'', although

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...

morphology and spine and ray counts are the most precise method of identification. ''S. analis'' is an opportunistic

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

, taking a variety of

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s, polychaetes and

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s, with a transition of diet seen as the fish mature. One unusual aspect about the species diet is the large amounts of molluscan siphons it takes. The species spawns between January and March, with juvenile fish inhabiting the shallow protected coastal waters. Golden lined whiting is important to fisheries centered on

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and also in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, although makes up a relatively minor component of the whiting fishery.

Taxonomy and naming

The golden lined whiting is a member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Sillago'', which contain 29 other species. It is part of the family

which is a division of the Percoidei, a

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

of the Perciformes. The species was named by Whitley in 1943 as ''Sillago analis'', designating a specimen collected at

as the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

. Another currently valid species of sillaginid, '' Sillago nierstraszi'' is according to McKay (1985) almost certainly a senior

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''S. analis''. The holotype for ''S. nierstraszi'' has not been examined by McKay, however, and uncertainty about this relationship remains. ''S. analis'' has a three local names used in northern Australia, with 'golden lined whiting' the most prevalent. 'Tin Can Bay whiting' is applied to the species in parts of Queensland, referring to the locality of the same name in that state, while the name 'rough-scale whiting is also used in parts of

Description

The golden lined whiting has a very similar profile to other members of the genus ''Sillago'', with a slightly compressed, elongate body tapering toward the terminal mouth. It differs from some members of the genus in that its ventral profile is more rounded than most other species, which tend to have a flat profile. The number of spines and rays,

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

and

morphology are other distinguishing features. ''S. analis'' has a first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

consisting of 11 spines followed by a second dorsal fin consisting of one spine and between 16 and 18 soft rays. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 2 spines followed by 14 to 17 soft rays. Over the distribution of the species, the

number differs, with fish in

having 33 and those in south east

having one or two additional modified vertebrae. Also varying over the range is the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

scale Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

count, with Western Australian fish having less than Queensland fish, with the range for the species between 54 and 61 scales. The

of the species is very similar and in some cases indistinguishable from a related species, ''Sillago ciliata'', with the

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

part of the swim bladder having rudimentary

tubules In biology, a tubule is a general term referring to small tube or similar type of structure. Specifically, tubule can refer to: * a small tube or fistular structure * a minute tube lined with glandular epithelium * any hollow cylindrical body stru ...

projecting

ly and a lateral series of tubules that diminishes in size and become sawtooth-like, projecting posteriorly. The golden lined whiting's common name is derived from its colour, having a dull golden-silver to golden-yellow band running

longitudinal Longitudinal is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Longitude ** Line of longitude, also called a meridian * Longitudinal engine, an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, ...

ly on the sides below the lateral line. The body is an overall silver colour, being slightly darker above. The pelvic and anal fins are pale to bright yellow, while the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

has a darker dusting of fine black-brown spots with no black spot at the base.

Distribution and habitat

The golden lined whiting is located in the southern

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

along the northern coastline of Australia, from

in Western Australia north along the coastline of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, around the Queensland coastline to Moreton Bay. The species also extends north to the south coast of

, although inhabits a small range. The species prefers shallow, protected waters up to a maximum of 10 m depth, often inhabiting protected embayments. The

juvenile Juvenile may refer to: *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper * ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film * ''Juvenile'' (2017 film) *Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyho ...

s tend to remain in the warmer, shallow waters of protected inlets, mangroves and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, often with other species of whiting. Adults prefer to inhabit protected

mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

dy tidal streams where they forage in the

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

, while other species of whiting in the range move to open tidal sand flats.

Biology

Diet

The diet of the golden lined whiting varies along its range, however it takes similar food and shows the same transition in

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

items during its lifetime throughout its distribution. Juvenile fish tend to take a mixture of polychaetes which they 'plough' from the

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

, small

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

s, including '' Mesodesma eltanae'' and '' Glauconome virens'' as well as

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

s while at lengths less than 80 mm. Adult fish tend to take larger prey, predominantly larger bivalves with small quantities of

penaeid Penaeidae is a family of marine crustaceans in the suborder Dendrobranchiata, which are often referred to as penaeid shrimp or penaeid prawns. The Penaeidae contain many species of economic importance, such as the tiger prawn, whiteleg shrimp, ...

s and brachyuran crabs, which corresponds to a

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

al change to molariform crushing plates. Studies by Brewer et al. (1992) have shown that the Golden lined whiting is an opportunistic

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

hunter, taking the most vulnerable, easily accessible prey. This may because they are relatively abundant, poorly shelled or unable to escape quickly. The most commonly caught prey at night were

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

, while buried

annelid The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecol ...

s were ignored and

s were left alone except for taking the unprotected

siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

tips of a species of bivalve; ''Glauconome virens''. A study on the diet of young ''S. analis'' from a mangrove tidal flat in Deception Bay in Queensland has shown that the siphon tips of this mollusc comprise the majority of most fish's diet, with very few other molluscs taken whole. Adult fish greater than 200 mm had no siphons in their diet however, electing to take larger molluscs, annelids or crustaceans.

Reproduction

''S. analis'' spawns between the months of January and March. The

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

s of the species are larger than the

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

s when they reach maturity, attaining a length of 216 mm compared to males 184 mm. Twenty percent of the females and 60% of the males of ''S. analis'' reach maturity by the end of their second year of life, with all individuals mature by the end of the third. Juveniles of the species inhabit shallow shores including lower sections of creeks and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s, favouring

dy-

substrates also with less than 1 m depth. The species has been known to reach a maximum of 45 cm long.

Relationship to humans

The golden lined whiting is a major commercial species in some parts of its range, particularly in Shark Bay and to a lesser extent in Queensland. It is often taken alongside other species of whiting which also constitute major parts of the local

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

. The amount of fish taken by

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

s fluctuates, with an example monthly 1998/1999 catch weighing 5,399 kg, a massive amount less than the 196,293 kg of western sand whiting taken in the same period. Being that the juveniles enter mangrove creeks, the species may be a future candidate for

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

, which has seen other species of sillaginid cultured in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. The species is a common target for recreational fishermen, with large catches possible. Golden lined whiting respond to bait which resembles their normal prey and are taken on yabbies, crabs, soldier crabs,

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s of many different sorts,

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...

s and prawn, in particular jelly prawn. This species will also take a variety of wet flies and small lures. They are commonly caught over their foraging habitats, particularly sand flats, tailing sand banks, shallow and deep weed beds, over yabby beds, and particularly in muddy mangrove areas. The flesh of this whiting is sweet and although slightly softer in texture than the

sand whiting The sand whiting (''Sillago ciliata''), also known as the summer whiting, yellowfin whiting or blue-nose whiting, is a common species of coastal marine fish of the family Sillaginidae, the smelt-whitings. It is a slender, slightly compressed fish ...

, is equal to it for high eating quality. In Queensland, the minimum size for taking golden lined whiting is 23 cm, and there is a bag limit of 30 combined with sand whiting.

References

External links

Golden lined whiting at Fishbase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2450383 Sillago Taxa named by Gilbert Percy Whitley Fish described in 1943