Argyrops spinifer ( Forsskål, 1775 ), Forsskal, 1775

Siddiqui, Pirzada Jamal, Amir, Shabir Ali & Masroor, Rafaqat, 2014, The sparid fishes of Pakistan, with new distribution records, Zootaxa 3857 (1), pp. 71-100 : 79

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3857.1.3

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A26948F7-39C6-4858-B7FD-380E12F9BD34

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6139401

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03B5EA0A-0F1F-CB0B-FF34-1EF3FD39F877

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Argyrops spinifer ( Forsskål, 1775 )
status

 

Argyrops spinifer ( Forsskål, 1775) View in CoL

Common name: King Soldierbream

Local names: Dhand (Sindh); Malelak (Balochistan) ( Figures 5 View FIGURE 5. a & 15 View FIGURE 15 V; Table 1 View TABLE 1 )

Pagrus ciliaris View in CoL von Bonde, 1923: 19, Pl. 5 (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, southwestern Indian Ocean). Sparus spinifer Forsskål, 1775: 32 View in CoL , xi (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea.)

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from other sparid species by the following combination of characters: body deep and compressed, its depth 49.4–53.4% of SL; head large, 30.5–34% of SL. Profile of head very steep, the section between the eyes and the mouth being almost straight, interorbital scaly; first two dorsal spines very short; third to seventh spines flexible, flattened and prolonged into long filaments (these spines elongate and filamentous in juveniles to young, get shorter with age, reaching sometimes beyond caudal fin).

Description. Dorsal rays XII, 10; anal rays III,8; pectoral rays 15; lateral line scales 49–53; gill rakers small 15–16, ten on lower arch ( Figure 15 View FIGURE 15 Z); Body deep and compressed, its depth 1.9–2.0 in SL; anterio-dorsal profile of head steep with a slight bump before eye (mainly in large adult male, developing a grotesque hump on nape); eye moderate in size, orbit diameter 9.2–10.2% of SL; mouth slightly oblique; upper jaw length 12.1–14.4% of SL; maxilla reaching to vertical through front border of eye; front of upper and lower jaws with four canine teeth; side of each jaws (upper and lower) with two to three rows of molars; the first three teeth in outer row of upper jaw (just after the canine) are blunt conical teeth, becoming molariform posteriorly. Scales on upper part of head extending in a triangular prolongation to between eyes ( Figure 5 View FIGURE 5. a b) cheeks with 5–6 transvers row of scales; preoperculum with 5 transverse rows of scales; first anal spine less than half length of 2nd, which is sub equal to 3rd anal spine and less then snout length. Pectoral-fins length longer than head length; pelvic-fins with the first ray produced and near to head length; caudal fin weakly forked.

Color of fresh specimens. Head and body silvery pink with gold-lines (scales centres golden and pinkish, edges silvery); snout and nape area more pinkish; operculum with silvery and pinkish shade; pectoral, pelvic, anal and caudal fins are light pinkish and hyaline, some black streaks in anal-fins. Diffused red spot in axil of pectoral-fin. Overall the body color is pinkish-red, especially the head, while the flanks and underside are paler or white.

Distribution. Red Sea, Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Madagascar and western Mascarenes east to Indonesia, north to South China Sea and south to northern Australia. This species has been reported from Pakistan ( Bianchi, 1985; Hoda, 1988; Jalil & Khalil-Uddin, 1981) and can presumably be found in wider range in Iran, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Remarks. Heemstra and Heemstra (2004) reported XI–XII, 10–11 dorsal-fin rays and 4–6 canine teeth on anterior portions of both jaws in this species. Weber and De Beaufort (1936) recorded XI,10 dorsal-fin rays, six smaller canines in the lower jaw and 2nd to 5th dorsal spine prolonged into long filaments. Contrary to Weber & Beaufort (1936), our specimens have XII, 10 dorsal-fin rays and 4 canine teeth in both jaws, and third to seventh dorsal spines prolonged into long filaments.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Actinopterygii

Order

Perciformes

Family

Sparidae

Genus

Argyrops

Loc

Argyrops spinifer ( Forsskål, 1775 )

Siddiqui, Pirzada Jamal, Amir, Shabir Ali & Masroor, Rafaqat 2014
2014
Loc

Pagrus ciliaris

Bonde 1923: 19
Forsskal 1775: 32
1923
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