A contribution to the biology of Indian Sand Whiting Sillago sihama (Forskal)

Abstract

The Indian Sand Whiting, belonging to the family Percomorphoidea), is of some importance to the coastal and estuarine fisheries of India. Very little detailed study of this fish seems to have been made, except for a short account of its food and feeding habits by Chacko (1949), notes on the larval and post-larval stages by Gopinath (1942, 1946), general notes by Devanesan and Chidambaram (1948), and observations on the eggs and larvae by Chacko (1950). Cleland (1947) has given an account of the economic biology of the Sand Whiting, Sillago ciliata, the best known species in Australian waters. The post-larval stages of this species were described by Munro (1945) and eggs and early larvae by Tosh (1903).