AN OCEAN WHITING. 65 
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 (Sil/ago bassensis). 
PLraTE 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 young, ranging from about 24 to 4} 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,. 
this fish is sometimes dubbed “ Red-spotted Whiting.” 
Though the smallest of our known whitings, attaining 
usually, when full-grown, a length of only 9 or ro 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 Strout WuitINnG. 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, 
