Northern whiting is a slender, pale brown to silvery fish of sandy coasts in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. A 2024 revision found that many older Pacific records used its name for similar fish.

Appearance

Appearance
It is a slender, pale brown to silvery whiting with a pointed snout.

Where it lives

Typical habitats
  • sandy coasts
  • estuaries
Range
Confirmed records in the 2024 revision come from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. An older account includes Guam under this name, but its presence there needs rechecking after the revision.

Name and classification

About the name
Northern whiting is also called silver sillago.

Conservation

IUCN Red List
LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
8 sources
  1. iNaturalist taxon API: Sillago sihama
  2. Zootaxa 2024: Sillaginidae and Sillago sihama
  3. Eschmeyer Catalog of Fishes: sihama
  4. 국립해양생물자원관: 보리멸
  5. 국립생물자원관 한국 어류 국명 목록
  6. FishBase: Sillago sihama
  7. JAMSTEC BiSMaL: モトギス
  8. FishBase: Sillago sihama names and historical range
Northern Whiting (Sillago sihama) — identification, habitat & look-alikes | Moeyo