Teleostei (teleosts) >
Argentiniformes (Marine smelts) >
Argentinidae (Argentines or herring smelts)
Etymology: Argentina: Latin, argentus = silver (Ref. 45335); sialis: sialis pertaining to a bird; the long sharp snout may have looked like a bird's beak to the describer (Ref. 4525).
More on author: Gilbert.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 11 - 325 m (Ref. 96339). Deep-water; 46°N - 22°N
Eastern Pacific: mouth of Columbia River in Oregon, USA to southern Baja California, Mexico and the Gulf of California.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 22.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9270); max. published weight: 0.00 g; max. reported age: 5 years (Ref. 4525)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Epipelagic or mesopelagic (Ref. 265). Frequently found in the stomachs of rockfishes (Ref. 4525). Oviparous, with pelagic eggs and pelagic larvae (Ref. 265).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Schneider, M., 1995. Argentinidae. Argentinas. p. 858-859. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9270)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 9.1 - 18.5, mean 14.4 °C (based on 37 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5001 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00210 - 0.00722), b=3.20 (3.03 - 3.37), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.1 ±0.30 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 2.0 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.54 (preliminary estimate); tmax=5).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (24 of 100).