The golden lined whiting, Sillago analis (also known as the Tin Can Bay whiting or rough-scale whiting), is a species of inshore marine fish of the smelt whiting family, Sillaginidae that inhabits the coastlines of northern Australia and lower Papua New Guinea. The golden lined whiting can be more readily distinguished by its colour than other whitings in the genus Sillago, although swim bladder morphology and spine and ray counts are the most precise method of identification. S. analis is an opportunistic predator, taking a variety of crustaceans, polychaetes and molluscs, with a transition of diet seen as the fish mature. One unusual aspect about the species diet is the large amounts of molluscan siphons it takes. The species spawns between January and March, with juvenile fish inhabiting the shallow protected coastal waters. Golden lined whiting is important to fisheries centered on Shark Bay in Western Australia and also in Queensland, although makes up a relatively minor component of the whiting fishery. Taxonomy and naming The golden lined whiting is a member of the genus Sillago, which contain 29 other species. It is part of the family Sillaginidae which is a division of the Percoidei, a suborder of the Perciformes. The species was named by Whitley in 1943 as Sillago analis, designating a specimen collected at Shark Bay as the holotype. Another currently valid species of sillaginid, Sillago nierstraszi is according to McKay (1985) almost certainly a senior synonym of S. analis. The holotype for S. nierstraszi has not been examined by McKay, however, and uncertainty about this relationship remains. S. analis has a three local names used in northern Australia, with 'golden lined whiting' the most prevalent. 'Tin Can Bay whiting' is applied to the species in parts of Queensland, referring to the locality of the same name in that state, while the name 'rough-scale whiting is also used in parts of Western Australia. Description The golden lined whiting has a very similar profile to other members of the genus Sillago, with a slightly compressed, elongate body tapering toward the terminal mouth. It differs from some members of the genus in that its ventral profile is more rounded than most other species, which tend to have a flat profile. The number of spines and rays, vertebrae and swim bladder morphology are other distinguishing features. S. analis has a first dorsal fin consisting of 11 spines followed by a second