Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Sillaginidae (Smelt-whitings)
Etymology: Sillago: From a locality in Australia; suezensis: Named for its type locality, Suez (as Suwais, Egypt), its restricted distribution area in the Gulf of Suez, northern Red Sea.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 40 m (Ref. 94953). Tropical
Western Indian Ocean: Northern Red Sea (Gulf of Suez, Egypt) and southeastern Mediterranean Sea with southeastern Aegean Sea (Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 94953)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 11 - 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 19 - 22; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 18 - 22; Vertebrae: 34. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: swimbladder divided posteriorly into 2 tapering extensions projecting below the vertebral column extending into the tail musculature; no scales on the preoperculum and on most of the operculum; 34 total number of vertebrae; swimbladder with lateral extensions each spreading a blind tubule anterolaterally; nostrils at the level of the upper quarter of the orbit with anterior nostril having a small flap and nearly round posterior nostril situated close to the first (Ref. 94953).
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Usually on sandy substrates, where juveniles and subadults (up to 1.20 cm TL) are very common in shallow water of sandy beaches. Reported (Ref. 69752) to feed on benthic invertebrates, mainly on polychaetes and, to a lesser extent, on crustaceans. Known spawning season is from April to September. A commercial species in Israel caught by trawl and trammel net (Ref. 94953).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Golani, D., R. Fricke and Y. Tikochinski, 2014. Sillago suezensis, a new whiting from the northern Red Sea, and the status of Sillago erythraea Cuvier (Teleostei: Sillaginidae). J. Nat. Hist. 48(7-8):413-428. (Ref. 94953)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: bycatch
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00603 (0.00354 - 0.01026), b=3.12 (2.97 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.38 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (13 of 100).
