Progress in Taxonomy of the Family Sillaginidae in China
The family Sillaginidae(Osteichthyes:Perciformes:Percoidei),which consists of about 38 species in three genera,is widely distributed in tropical,subtropical and temperate coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.They play an important role in worldwide marine fisheries.There are14 Sillago species in this family in China.Due to their wide distribution,small morphological differences,similar body color,and the lack of effective classification and identification means,many taxonomic problems still exist at the generic and species levels.The purposes of the study are:(1)summarizing the current status of family Sillaginidae classification and phylogeny research with recent research results,and(2)providing the taxonomic status and its geographical distribution for nine sillaginid species in Chinese seas.Additionally,the further studies on Sillaginidae are also discussed based on the Sillago undefined species and cryptic diversity problems.