AN OCEAN' WHITING. 05' 



latter. The scales, too, in this kind are more deciduous, and 

 the body is always characterised by the presence on the upper 

 parts of a number of very dark, blackish, irregular blotches, 

 these being, as before pointed out, quite absent in the adult 

 Sand Whiting. 



School Whiting {Sillago hassensis). 



Plate XXXV. 



This, fish is very abundant in our ocean waters at depths 

 ranging from a few fathoms down to nearly go fathoms. It 

 is also found in considerable abundance, during the warm 

 weather usually, in the deeper water at the entrances of Port 

 Jackson, Port Hacking, &c. 



During the trawling of the " Thetis " in 1898, this small 

 whiting was obtained in large numbers on many different 

 occasions, and, judging by this and the abundant evidence 

 which I have since had, there can be no doubt that the School 

 Whiting is exceedingly common along a great part of the 

 coast of New South Wales. On one occasion I saw several 

 hundreds of the yoiing, ranging from about 2h to 4J inches in 

 length, captured at one haul of a garfish net on Grotto Beach,, 

 at the entrance to Middle Harbour, Port Jackson. 



Owing to the possession of a series of rusty-red diagonal 

 blotches with which the upper part of each side is adorned y. 

 this fish is sometimes dubbed " Red-spotted Whiting." 



Though the smallest of our known whitings, attaining: 

 usually, when full-grown, a length of only g or 10 inches, 

 the School Whiting is a fine little table fish, of delicious 

 flavor. 



I have recently discovered a new species of whiting, 

 which I have named Sillago robusta, and which I propose to call 

 the Stout Whiting. So far I have only one small example,, 

 which was captured by Mr. H. C. Dannevig in Rose Bay,. 

 Port Jackson. The specimen obtained is apparently immature. 

 It is considerably heavier in build than our other whitings, 

 and the scales have very prettily-pencilled outlines. 



