Silverside, Argentina australiae Cohen, 1958

ANIMAL SPECIES:Silverside, Argentina australiae Cohen, 1958

The Silverside is a small fish with large eyes and a sliver stripe running along both sides. The species is is endemic to Australia.

Alternative Name/s

Deepsea Smelt

Identification

The Silverside has an elongate body with a distinct sliver stripe running along both sides. It has large eyes and a small mouth with the upper jaw slightly longer than the lower.

There are two dorsal fins. The first is short-based and the second is adipose (glossary). The anal fin is small and placed almost adjacent to the caudal fin.

Size range

19 cm

Distribution

The Silverside is endemic to Australia. It occurs from off the northern coast of New South Wales to south-eastern Western Australia.

Distribution by collection data

Biomaps map of Silverside specimens in the Australian Museum collection.

What does this mean?

Habitat

The species is found in temperate marine waters. It usually occurs on the continental shelf and slope, in depths ranging from 30 m to 400 m.

Classification

Species:: australiae
Genus:: Argentina
Family:: Argentinidae
Order:: Argentiniformes
Class:: Actinopterygii
Subphylum:: Vertebrata
Phylum:: Chordata
Kingdom:: Animalia

What does this mean?

References

Glover, C.J.M. in Gomon, M.F, Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.

Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated: 15 September 2011

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