Sand Whiting - Taxonomy and Naming

Taxonomy and Naming

The sand whiting belongs to the genus Sillago, a division of the smelt whiting family Sillaginidae containing 29 individual species. The Sillaginidae are in the suborder Percoidei, a division of the Perciformes.

The species was first identified and named by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1829 after receiving a specimen that was listed as having been collected in the "Southern seas". This holotype specimen was apparently taken near the coastline of Tasmania, Australia. Four junior synonyms were subsequently placed on the species, with Castelnau applying both S. insularis and S. terra-reginae, Thiollière applying S. diadoi and Whitley S. ciliata diadoi to the species. All of these names are invalid under the ICZN nomenclature rules, which states that the first correct naming is the one to be used. Many of these synonyms were applied due to confusion over S. ciliata and the nearly identical, closely related species S. analis. The species was also misidentified as S. gracilis, a synonym of S. maculata, the trumpeter whiting; and also S. bassensis, the southern school whiting.

S. ciliata is most commonly called the 'sand whiting' in reference to its preference for sandy substrates compared to some members of the genus which prefer muddy, silty, or grassy substrates. Other common names include the 'blue-nose whiting' in reference to the colour of the nose in fish of larger sizes, and 'summer whiting', a name often applied to S. analis as well. This name is applied to these species as they move from deeper offshore waters into shallow beach and estuarine waters in summer, where they become a target for recreational fishers.