Slender argentine

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iSlender argentine
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Osmeriformes
Family: Microstomatidae
Genus: Microstoma
Cuvier, 1816
Species: M. microstoma
Binomial name
Microstoma microstoma
(Risso, 1810)

The slender argentine, Microstoma microstoma, is a species of smelt, the only member of the genus Microstoma, found circumglobally in tropical and subtropical seas. Its length is between 10 and 21 cm.

The slender argentine is a thin elongate mesopelagic species with very large forward-set eyes and mouth. There is a single row of small teeth in each jaw, and a row of enlarged scales along the lateral line. Their diet consists of small planktonic animals.

They are silver with darker patches on the operculum and caudal peduncle.

[edit] References

  • "Microstoma microstoma". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
  • Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
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