Relevant synonyms None Misidentification Sillago sihama Meristic formula D1, X-XII; D2, I + 20-23; A, II + 18-22; P, 14-16; V, I + 5; LL, 63-74; GR, 12-14.  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated, cylindrical tapering from midpoint toward head and tail. Two dorsal fins, the second with one spine, origin very short distance from first dorsal termination. Second dorsal fin opposite anal fin. Pelvic fin beneath pectoral fin. Caudal fin emarginate to truncate. Head conical with pointed snout. Mouth small, upper jaw slightly larger than lower jaw. Bands of villiform teeth in jaws and vomer, none on palatine. A single spine on the operculum at the level of upper point of pectoral fin base. Small ctenoid scales. A row of 8-12 scales extending onto caudal fin. color : yellowish to silvery beige. size : common 15-20 cm (max. 30 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Synodontidae: presence of adipose fin; large mouth extending beyond vertical of eye. Sphyraenidae: large mouth with sharp teeth. Two dorsal fins widely separated. Mugilidae: two dorsal fins widely separated, the first with four spines. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds on benthic invertebrates, mainly polychaetes and, to a lesser extent, crustaceans. Spawning season lasts from April to September. habitat : benthic. Sandy substrates to depths of 40 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Lebanon, 1977. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : wide Indo-Pacific. Red Sea and eastern Africa through the Indian Ocean to Korea, northern Australia, to Solomon Islands. Mediterranean : recorded first in Lebanon (Mouneimne, 1977) ; successively recorded in Israel (Ben-Tuvia, 1985), Turkey (Gucu et al., 1994) and Egypt (El Sayed, 1994). Recorded in SE Aegean Sea. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very common in the Eastern Levant. speculated reasons for success : unknown. MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS This species experienced a population explosion in the Mediterranean immediately following its first record. Taken in large quantities with purse seine. This species was the subject to mariculture experiments in the Far East and India to test its suitability for commercial farming.

KEY REFERENCES Golani D., 1998. Distribution of lessepsian migrants fish in the Mediterranean. Italian Journal of Zoology, 65 suppl.: 95-99. Mouneimne N., 1977. Liste des poissons de la côte du Liban (Méditerranée orientale). Cybium, 1:37-66. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2013 ©ciesm 2002