Name: Whipfin Silver-biddy
Local name: Badhryyashi
Scientific name: Gerres filamentosus
Classification: Class: ray-finned fishes; Order: perch-likes; Family: Silver-biddies (Gerridae)
Size: It commonly attains 25 cm total length, with a maximum length of 35 cm.
Habitat:
Adults inhabit coastal waters where they occur over soft bottoms, often in very shallow water. Juveniles are found in mangrove areas and tidal creeks. The Whipfin Silver-biddy feeds on small crustaceans and other benthic organisms.
Distribution:
This species is widespread in the tropical Indo-West Pacific, from the east coast of Africa, east to the Indo-Malayan region, north to Japan, and south to New Caledonia.
Conservation status:
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the Whipfin Silver-biddy as Least Concern (LC) in both the global assessment and the regional assessment for the Arabian Gulf. It is caught with beach seines and marketed fresh.
Description:
The body is rather deep and compressed. The ventral profile of the head to below eye is concave, the mouth terminal and very protractile. The second dorsal spine is very long and filamentous. The caudal fin is deeply forked. The coloration of the head and body is silvery. Juveniles have about 10 narrow dusky bars on the upper two-thirds of the body, which break up into vertical series of oval dark spots in adults. There is a longitudinal row of small dusky spots in the dorsal fin.
