''Argyrops'' is a genus of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

es belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Sparidae Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in t ...

, the seabreams and porgies. These fishes are found in the coasts of Indian Ocean and near Australia.

Taxonomy

''Argyrops'' was first formally proposed as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

of ''

Chrysophrys The Australasian snapper (''Pagrus auratus'') or silver seabream is a species of porgie found in coastal waters of Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand. Its distribution areas in the Northern and South ...

'' by the English

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

William Swainson William Swainson Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, Malacology, malacologist, Conchology, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swains ...

with its

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

, by

monotypy In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

, being ''Sparus spinifer''. ''S. spinifer'' had been described in 1775 by

Peter Forsskål Peter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl (11 January 1732 – 11 July 1763) was a Sweden, Swedish exploration, explorer, oriental studies, orientalist, natural history, naturalist, and ...

with its type locality given as

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

. This genus is placed in the family Sparidae within the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Spariformes Spariformes is an order of ray-finned fishes consisting of six families within the series Percomorpha. Taxonomy Spariformes was first used as a taxonomic term in 1860 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker. Trad ...

by the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

''. Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.

Etymology

''Argyrops'' was not explained by Swainson but is may combine ''argyros'', meaning "silver", and ''ops'', meaning "face", the type species has a silvery lower jaw.

Species

''Argyrops'' contains the following species: * '' Argyrops bleekeri'' Oshima, 1927 (Taiwan tai) * '' Argyrops caeruleops'' Iwatsuki & Heemstra, 2018 (Bluesnout soldierbream) * '' Argyrops filamentosus'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1830) (Soldierbream) * ''

Argyrops flavops ''Argyrops'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. These fishes are found in the coasts of Indian Ocean and near Australia. Taxonomy ''Argyrops'' was first formally proposed as a subg ...

'' Iwatsuki & Heemstra, 2018 (Yellow-snout soldierbream) * ''

Argyrops megalommatus ''Argyrops'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. These fishes are found in the coasts of Indian Ocean and near Australia. Taxonomy ''Argyrops'' was first formally proposed as a subg ...

'' ( Klunzinger, 1870) (Red Sea soldierbream) * ''

Argyrops notialis ''Argyrops'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called becaus ...

'' Iwatsuki & Heemstra, 2018 (Australian soldierbream) * ''

Argyrops spinifer ''Argyrops spinifer'', the king soldierbream, Bowen snapper, long-spined red bream, longfin snapper, longspine seabream and red bokako, It is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Sparidae. This species is ...

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (King soldierbream)

Characteristics

''Argyrops'' fishes are characterised by having a very blunt snout and heavy head. The first 1 or 2

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

spines are short, with a long 3rd spine and occasionally the 4th to the 7th times are elongated into filaments and have a greater length than the head. The front teeth are conical and there are 2 or 3 rows of small molar-like teeth. The area between the eyes is scaly. The flange of the

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

is not scaled. The colour of these fishes is frequently reddish. The largest species in the genus is the king soldierbream ''(A.spinifer'') with a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of while the smallest is the Red Sea soldierbream (''A. megalommatus'') which has a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of .

Distribution

''Argyrops'' seabreams are mainly found in the Indian Ocean from the Red Sea and African coasts east to Australia, with one species ''A. bleekeri'' in the Western Pacific Ocean.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2076108 Sparidae Taxa named by William Swainson Spariform fish genera