Common Name
Striated Argentine
Year Described
Goode & Bean, 1896
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 10-12 (usually 11-12)
Anal Fin: 11-13 (usually 12-13)
Pelvic Fin: 12-15 (usually 13-14)
Pectoral Fin: 18-21 (usually 19-20)
Gill Rakers: almost always 6 rakers on ceratobranchiale (first arch)
Vertebrae: 47-51 (usually 49)
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 moderate and ventrally located; almost reaches 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
Brown above, opalescent below, with a bright silvery midbody stripe. A dark stripe borders the upper edge of silvery stripe. Finrays brown. Throat area with dark chromatophores. Swimbladder silvery. Small fish with several blotches along dorsum.
Size
Adults from 150-200mm SL.
Habitat
Caught over soft bottoms from 95-365m.
Range
Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and the coast of S. America to Uruguay.
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].