''Argyrosomus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

Sciaenidae Sciaenidae is a family (biology), family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the Order (biology), order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family co ...

, the drums. The fish in this genus are large and are commonly targeted as

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...

Taxonomy

''Argyrosomus'' was first proposed as a

monospecific genus 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 ...

in 1835 by the French

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Jean Bachelot La Pylaie Jean Marie Auguste Bachelot de La Pylaie (May 25, 1786, in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine – October 12, 1856) was a French botanist, explorer and archaeologist. He studied at Laval, and then in Paris at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, ...

with ''Argyrosomus procerus'', which La Pylaie had described from France as its only species. The description of ''A. procerus'' was based on ''Sciaena aquila'' Cuvier, 1816 and the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

is the same type specimen as ''Perca regia'' described by

Ignacio Jordán Claudio de Asso y del Río Ignacio Jordán Claudio de Asso y del Río (June 4, 1742 – May 21, 1814) was a Spanish diplomat, naturalist, lawyer and historian. He sometimes used the pseudonym of Melchor de Azagra. Biography Of noble birth, he received an excellent educati ...

in 1801. This genus is classified in the family Sciaenidae which is placed within the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Sciaenoidei Sciaenoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes belonging to the Order (biology), order Acanthuriformes. Taxonomy The suborder was first proposed in 1828 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier. The 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' classifies ...

of 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 ...

Acanthuriformes Acanthuriformes is a large, diverse order of mostly marine ray-finned fishes, part of the Percomorpha clade. In the past, members of this clade were placed in the suborders Acanthuroidea and Percoidea of the order Perciformes, but this treatment ...

in 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 ...

''.

Etymology

''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 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 ...

Species

''Argyrosomus'' contains the following valid species: * ''

Argyrosomus amoyensis ''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 ''Argyrosomus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in ...

'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Argyrosomus beccus ''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 ''Argyrosomus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus ...

'' Sasaki, 1994 * ''

Argyrosomus coronus ''Argyrosomus coronus'', also known as the westcoast dusky kob, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is found on the west coast of Southern Africa, from southern Angola to northern ...

Griffiths Griffiths is a surname with Welsh origins, as in Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr. People named Griffiths include: * Alan Griffiths (born 1952), Australian politician and businessman * Alan Griffiths (cricketer) (born 1957), English cricketer * Albert ...

& Heemstra, 1995 (Dusky kob) * ''

Argyrosomus heinii ''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 ''Argyrosomus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus i ...

'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1902) (Arabian sea meagre) * ''

Argyrosomus hololepidotus ''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 ''Argyrosomus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in ...

'' ( Lacépède, 1801) (Southern meagre) * '' Argyrosomus inodorus'' Griffiths & Heemstra, 1995 (Mild meagre) * ''

Argyrosomus japonicus ''Argyrosomus japonicus'' is a silvery to bronze-green colored saltwater fish of the family Sciaenidae, which may grow up to in length and weigh up to . It is known as Dusky Kob, dusky salmon, salmon, Kob and kabeljou' in South Africa, Japanese ...

'' (

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch patrician, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob ...

Schlegel Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), American football player * August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, brother of Friedrich * Brad Schlegel (born 1968), C ...

,1843) (Japanese meagre) * ''

Argyrosomus regius ''Argyrosomus regius'', also known as the meagre, croaker, jewfish, shade-fish, sowa, kir, corvina, salmon-bass or stone bass, is a species of fish of the family Sciaenidae. This large fish has a pearly-silver to brownish coloration and a yellow- ...

'' ( Asso y del Rio, 1801) (Meagre) * '' Argyrosomus thorpei'' M. M. Smith, 1977 (Squaretail kob)

Characteristics

''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 Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprini ...

on the chin. 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 serrated and the operculum ends in a pair of flattened spines, which are frequently embedded in the skin. They have relatively short

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s and these have a dark fleshy axillary fold at upper end of base of the fin. The

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

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 The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

, 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. These are large fishes with the, largest, the meagre (''A. regius'') attaining 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 .

Distribution

''Argyrosomus'' meagres are found in the eastern Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.

References

* * {{Authority control Sciaenidae Perciformes genera