Kathala Croaker

The kathala croaker has a body which has a depth which is almost equal to the length of its head. The caudal fin may be convex or truncate and has rounded corners. It has a carrot-shaped swimbladder with a pair of simple appendages at its head end. The dorsal fin is divided by a deep incision, forward of the incision it is supported by 10 spines and to the rear of the incision there is a single spine and between 26 and 28 soft rays. The anal fin is supported by 2 spines and 7 soft rays while the pectoral fins contain 17 or 18 rays. The standard length is 2.8 to 3.3 times the body's depth. There are small, cycloid scales on the head and similarly sized cteniod scales on the body. The back is greyish-green and the sides are silvery-yellow. The anterior part of the dorsal fin is black and there is a black blotch above the base of the pectoral fin. This species has a maximum published total length of 27 cm (11 in), although 18 cm (7.1 in) is more typical.

The kathala croakeris found in the northern Indian Ocean where it occurs along the coasts of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is found at depths down to 70 m (230 ft) in shallow coastal and estuarine waters with substrates of mixed sand and mud.

== References ==

The kathala croaker's genus name, was not explained by Lal Mohan but the name was recorded in 1801 by Patrick Russell in his Two Hundred Fishes: Collected at Vizagapatam on the Coast of Coromandel as a local name in India for this species and other members of the Sciaenidae. The specific name axillaris refers to a black mark over the base of the pectoral fin.