Bleeker conducted most of his studies on the fishes of South East Asia, and one author has attributed the type specimen to samples collected from the Java Sea.

[1] The common name of the species, club-foot whiting, is derived from its unique pelvic fin structure which may look, and possibly act as club shaped 'foot'.

[2] As with most of the family Sillaginidae, the club-foot whiting has a slightly compressed, elongate body tapering toward the terminal mouth, with the species reaching a maximum overall length of 35 cm.

The fins are hyaline in colour, with only the spinous first dorsal fin having a light dusting of fine black spots at the tip.> S. chondropus ranges from South Africa, northward along the west African coast to Pakistan, India,[4] Myanmar, Indonesia, northern New Guinea, Thailand, Philippines and Taiwan.

[3] The club-foot whiting is commonly taken by seine net throughout its range and is generally sold fresh in local markets alongside other species of sillaginid.