Description

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8; Vertebrae: 24. This species is distinguished from all its congeners by the following set of characters: body deep and becoming compressed and slender with growth; D XII,10; the first 2 dorsal-fin spines rudimentary (2 dorsal-fin spines on first dorsal pterygiophore), third dorsal-fin spine longest (1.3-1.6, mean 1.4, in 3DFS/4DFS), thirrd not reaching beyond level of origin of first soft dorsal-fin ray and not greater than head length; orbit diameter subequal to suborbital depth. Colouration: body uniform pink, silvery belly and chin; spinous dorsal fin yellowish pink, other fins are yellowish pink or pale pink; cheek and region above the eye with bluish tinge; upper jaw often with yellowish orange tinge (Ref. 124569).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Eupercaria/misc

Family: Sparidae

Genus: Argyrops

Species: Argyrops filamentosus (Valenciennes, 1830)

Climate Zone

Location

• Western Indian Ocean: east coast of Africa (South Africa and Mozambique), Mauritius, Madagascar, and Réunion.

Biology

Found over corals in warmer waters and rocky reefs over sandy bottoms; feeds on benthic invertebrates (Ref. 5213, 124569). Sold fresh, whole or dried in markets (Ref. 3507).

Habitat

associated

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Threat to Humans

Harmless