Taxonomy and Naming
The stout whiting is one of 29 species in the genus Sillago, which is one of three divisions of the smelt whiting family Sillaginidae. The smelt-whitings are Perciformes in the suborder Percoidea.
The species was first scientifically described by Stead in 1908 based on a specimen collected from Rose Bay in Port Jackson, New South Wales, which was designated to be the holotype. After this description and naming, the species was once again described and named by William Ogilby in 1910 as Sillago auricomis, based on a specimen taken from near Hervey Bay in Queensland. This is considered to be junior synonym under ICZN naming rules and has subsequently been discarded. During a comprehensive revision of the sillaginids in 1985, Roland McKay noted that the eastern and western populations of fish varied slightly in their fin osteology and swimbladder morphology, but recommended a full osteological comparison before placing them in subspecies ranks. McKay also postulates that the two populations became separated during the last ice age, when a land bridge closed the Torres Strait to the movement of the species.
The species is most commonly known as the 'stout whiting', and is recognised as such by the Australian Government. The species is occasionally called the 'yellow-cheek whiting' and also 'school whiting', a broad name applied to a number of Australian sillaginids.
Read more about this topic: Stout Whiting
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