Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Sparidae (Porgies)
Etymology: Argyrops: Greek, argyros = silver, silvered + Gree, ops = appearance (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Klunzinger.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 100 - 400 m (Ref. 124569). Tropical
Western Indian Ocean, Red and possibly Gulf of Aden.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 124569)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 12 - 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8; Vertebrae: 24. This species is distinguished from all its congeners by the following set of characters: body deep, becoming compressed and slender with growth; D XII,10; the first 2 dorsal-fin spines are rudimentary (2 dorsal-fin spines on 1st dorsal pterygiophore), 3DFS longest (1.0-1.3, mean 1.2, in 3DFS/4DFS), third spine not reaching beyond first soft dorsal-fin ray origin, and less than head length; orbit diameter is subequal to suborbital depth. Colouration: body uniform pink with belly silvery and chin white, all fins pink. This species is often being confused with A. filamentosus and juveniles of A. spinifer; but it differs by having red spinous dorsal-fin rays (vs. yellow orange in true A. filamentosus from South Africa and Mozambique); also the third spinous dorsal-fin spine is longest (vs. third and fourth spines very elongate in A. filamentous and longest in A. spinifer) (Ref. 124569).
Cross section: compressed.
Usually caught on reefs, and feeds on benthic organisms and according to D. Golani (HUJF), this species is collected in deeper waters at 100-400 m (Ref. 124569).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Iwatsuki, Y. and P.C. Heemstra, 2018. Taxonomic review of the genus Argyrops (Perciformes; Sparidae) with three new species from the Indo-West Pacific. Zootaxa 4438(3):401-442. (Ref. 124569)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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