 Being the fossil sillaginids are based on the comparison of fossil otoliths, with no other type of remains found thus far, this also prevents the reconstruction of the evolution of the family through fossil species.While the position of the Sillaginidae in the order Perciformes is firmly established due to a number of synapomorphies shared with other members of the order, no sister group has been established for the family.The current taxonomic status of the family is thought to represent a basic picture of the group's phylogeny, with McKay further dividing the genus "Sillago" into three subgenera based on shared morphological characters of the swimbladder.