Argyrosomus

Argyrosomus
Argyrosomus regius
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Sciaenidae
Genus: Argyrosomus
De La Pylaie, 1835
Type species
Argyrosomus procerus
De la Pylaie, 1835[1]
Synonyms[1]

Argyrosomus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums. The fish in this genus are large and are commonly targeted as game fish.

Taxonomy

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Argyrosomus was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1835 by the French naturalist Jean Bachelot La Pylaie with Argyrosomus procerus, which La Pylaie had described from France as its only species.[1][2] The description of A. procerus was based on Sciaena aquila Cuvier, 1816 and the type specimen is the same type specimen as Perca regia described by Ignacio Jordán Claudio de Asso y del Río in 1801.[1] This genus is classified in the family Sciaenidae which is placed within the suborder Sciaenoidei of the order Acanthuriformes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.[3]

Etymology

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Argyrosomus is a combination of argyros, meaning "silver", with soma, which means "body", this is presumed to refer to the pearly-silver coloration of the type species.[4]

Species

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Argyrosomus contains the following valid species:[5]

Characteristics

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Argyrosomus meagres have a fairly elongated and moderately compressed body with a dorsal profile that is more convex than the ventral proflle. They have a terminal, slightly oblique mouth with jaws of equal length, or sometimes with a slightly protruding lower jaw. There are 3 pairs of pores and no barbel on the chin. The preoperculum is serrated and the operculum ends in a pair of flattened spines, which are frequently embedded in the skin. They have relatively short pectoral fins and these have a dark fleshy axillary fold at upper end of base of the fin. The caudal fin is ponted in small juveniles and may be S-shaped, rhomboid, rounded in young and adult fish. There are between 47 and 53 scales in the lateral line, typically 51. The tubules in the lateral line are tree-shaped and the scales extend to the end of the caudal fin. Both sexes may have drumming muscles around the swim bladder.[6] These are large fishes with the, largest, the meagre (A. regius) attaining a maximum published total length of 230 cm (91 in).[5]

Distribution

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Argyrosomus meagres are found in the eastern Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Family-Scienidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Argyrosomus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. pp. 497–502. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  4. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (9 March 2023). "Series Eupercaria (Incertae sedis): Families Callanthidae, Centrogenyidae, Dinopercidae, Emmelichthyidae, Malacanthidae, Monodactylidae, Moronidae, Parascorpididae, Sciaenidae and Sillagidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Argyrosomus". FishBase. February 2023 version.
  6. ^ Griffiths, Marc H.; Heemstra, Phillip C. (1995). "A contribution to the taxonomy of the marine fish genus Argyrosomus (Perciformes: Sciaenidae), with descriptions of two new species from southern Africa". Ichthyological Bulletin J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology (65). J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. hdl:10962/d1019891.
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