The only member of the genus Sillaginodes, King George Whiting is easily distinguished from other Whiting by its tiny scales and the dark spots on its side (and from the unrelated but similar-looking Grass Whiting by its forked tail and 2 distinct dorsal fins).
Available wild-caught, it is a coastal marine fish found around Australia’s southern coast from southern NSW to Perth (including Tasmania), usually at less than 50m over sand and weed, with juveniles preferring seagrass beds in shallow sheltered bays and estuaries. It is caught mainly off SA (where it is the state’s most valuable finfish) using seine nets, gill nets or handlines, with small fisheries off Victoria and south-western WA.