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Argentina sphyraena Linnaeus, 1758

Argentine
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Argentina sphyraena   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Argentina sphyraena (Argentine)
Argentina sphyraena
Picture by Svensen, E.

Common names from other countries

Petite argentine, Pez plata, Lesser argentine, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Argentiniformes (Marine smelts) > Argentinidae (Argentines or herring smelts)
Etymology: Argentina: Latin, argentus = silver (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 50 - 700 m (Ref. 56504).   Deep-water; 71°N - 24°N, 19°W - 36°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: northern Norway to Western Sahara including southern Iceland, Faroe Islands, Shetlands and Mediterranean.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 35.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); common length : 20.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4458); max. reported age: 16 years (Ref. 35388)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Relatively common on the continental shelf and upper slope, probably schools near the bottom. Depth range from 50-500 m (Ref. 35388) and from 288-700 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). Feeds on bottom-living polychaetes, mollusks and crustaceans, also on pelagic invertebrates and fishes. Spawns from winter to spring in the Mediterranean and from March to July off the British coasts. Its eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 4773). They become sexually mature at a length of 12-13cm. With a smell like cucumber (Ref. 35388).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Cohen, D.M., 1990. Argentinidae. p. 235-238. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4458)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO(Fisheries: production; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 6.4 - 13.3, mean 8 (based on 277 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5001   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00363 (0.00281 - 0.00470), b=3.18 (3.11 - 3.25), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=7; K=0.27).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Low vulnerability (7 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.