The Chinese sillago (''Sillago sinica'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of inshore marine fish in the smelt whiting family Sillaginidae, described in 2011. The species is known only to inhabit the coastal waters of China, primarily in estuarine

tidal flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s near

Wenzhou Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. The Chinese sillago was described in 2011 based on morphological and DNA barcode analysis of several specimens. Several detailed anatomic features distinguish it from other sillaginids, with '' Sillago parvisquamis'' its closest relative based on

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analysis. Nothing is known of the

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

or importance to fisheries of the Chinese sillago.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The Chinese sillago is one of over 30 species in the genus '' Sillago'', 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 Order () 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 recognized ...

of the

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish in the clade Percomorpha. ''Perciformes'' means " perch-like". Among the well-known members of this group are perches and darters ( Percidae), and als ...

. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

'' classifies the Sillaginidae in the order

Spariformes Spariformes is an order of ray-finned fishes consisting of six families within the series Percomorpha. Taxonomy Spariformes was first used as a taxonomic term in 1860 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker. Trad ...

. The Chinese sillago was first described by a group of 6 authors in 2011 based on several

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

s collected from various parts of the East China Sea. The designated

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

is from near

in the

. The species

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

arises from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The authors used the

mitochondria A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

l DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene as a DNA barcode to further justify the assignment of a new species of ''Sillago''. In doing so they also analysed the species position relative to several sillaginids with an overlapping geographic distribution. The results clearly indicated ''S. sinica'' was sufficiently genetically distant from other species to be considered a new species. '' S. parvisquamis'' is the closest species genetically which correlates with the similar overall morphology of these two species. The authors also demonstrated that the COI gene is a viable method of phylogenetically analysing the Sillaginide.

Description

The Chinese sillago is similar in external appearance to many other members of the genus ''Sillago'', which have a slightly compressed, elongate body tapering toward the terminal mouth. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

is in two parts, the first made of feeble spines and the second of soft rays headed by a single feeble spine. The first dorsal fin has either 10 or 11 dorsal spines, a feature unique among ''Sillago'' which otherwise have 11 dorsal spines. The second dorsal fin has a single spine followed by 20-22 soft rays, while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has 2 spines and 21 to 23 soft rays. There are 37 to 39

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

, while the

otolith An otolith (, ' ear + , ', a stone), also called otoconium, statolith, or statoconium, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle (ear), utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The saccule ...

morphology is also distinctive. The body is covered in small ctenoid scales, with the anterior scales larger than the posterior. The

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectora ...

and ventral fin bases both lack scales. The maximum known size of the species is 17.5 cm. The Chinese sillago grades from a yellowish brown above to a silvery grey on its underside. A weak lateral stripe may be present. The dorsal fins are yellow to

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from , and . Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is named after its glassy appearance on fresh gross pathology. On light microscopy of H&E stained slides, the extracellula ...

with small dark spots on the first dorsal fin and 3 to 4 rows of dusky spots on the membranes. The remaining fins are yellowish, with the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

becoming dusky and having dark margins.

Distribution and biology

The Chinese sillago is only known from one study which collected all material from the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea ( zh, c=渤海, p=Bó Hǎi, l=Bo Sea) is a gulf/inland sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects via the Bohai Strait. It ...

and

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

within China. The species is presumed to inhabit

s in

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 environm ...

areas. Other areas of the species biology and ecology are unknown, with further study required. The relative importance to

fisheries 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 grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

is also unknown, although sillaginids in general are of importance in Chinese waters.

References

External links

Chinese sillago (''Sillago sinica'')
a
FishBase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6410879 sinica Fish of China Taxa named by Gao Tian-Xiang Taxa named by Ji Dong-Ping Taxa named by Xiao Jia-Guang Taxa named by Xue Tai-Qiang Taxa named by Takashi Yanagimoto Taxa named by Takumi Setoguma Fish described in 2011