Common Name
Bruce's Argentine
Year Described
Cohen & Atsaides, 1969
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 10-12 (usually 11)
Anal Fin: 11-13 (usually 12-13)
Pelvic Fin: 13-14
Pectoral Fin: 18-20 (usually 18-19)
Gill Rakers: almost always 7 rakers on ceratobranchiale (first arch)
Vertebrae: 44-46 (usually 45)
Branchiostegal Rays: 5
Body slender and elongate, with a small head (>3 times in SL). Eye moderate. Mouth is very small and terminal. Teeth absent on maxilla, premaxilla, dentary, and lower jaw but present on palatine, vomer, and tongue. Snout about equal to orbit diameter. Pectoral fin small and ventrally located; does not reach dorsal origin. Dorsal fin base midway between snout and caudal fin base. Pelvic fin origin under the rear rays of dorsal fin, and midway between the pectoral base and anal fin. Adipose fin small and narrow and inserted over posterior rays of anal fin. Body scales smooth and thin, without any prickles.
Color
Body pale brown above, becoming opalescent on the side and belly. Often with several dark blotches on the dorsum. A thin silvery stripe sometimes present on side. Fins pale. Swimbladder usually not silvery.
Size
Adults from 68-132mm SL.
Habitat
Taken over soft bottoms from 183-549m.
Range
Caribbean Sea: Hispaniola, the Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, and the continental shelf waters from Honduras to Venezuela.
References
Cohen, D.M. and S.P. Atsaides 1969. Additions to a revision of Argentinine fishes. United States Fish and Wildlife Service Fishery Bulletin v. 68 (no. 1): 13-36.
Kobylianskii, S.G. 2004. Argentina brasiliensis sp. nova (Argentinidae) new species of argentinid fish from the coastal subtropical waters of the southwestern Atlantic. Voprosy Ikhtiologii v. 44: 607-612. [In Russian. English translation in J. Ichthyol. v. 44 (no. 8):563-568].