Argyrosomus

Argyrosomus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums. The fish in this genus are large and are commonly targeted as game fish.

Taxonomy
Argyrosomus was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1835 by the French naturalist Jean Bachelot La Pylaie with Argyrosomus procerus, which La Pylaie had described from France as its only species. The description of A. procerus was based on Sciaena aquila Cuvier, 1816 and the type specimen is the same type specimen as Perca regia described by Ignacio Jordán Claudio de Asso y del Río in 1801. This genus is classified in the family Sciaenidae which is placed within the suborder Sciaenoidei of the order Acanthuriformes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.

Etymology
Argyrosomus is a combination of argyros, meaning "silver", with soma, which means "body", this is presumed to refer to the pearly-silver coloration of the type species.

Species
Argyrosomus contains the following valid species:
 * Argyrosomus amoyensis (Bleeker, 1863) (Amoy croaker)
 * Argyrosomus beccus Sasaki, 1994
 * Argyrosomus coronus Griffiths & Heemstra, 1995 (Dusky kob)
 * Argyrosomus heinii (Steindachner, 1902) (Arabian sea meagre)
 * Argyrosomus hololepidotus (Lacépède, 1801) (Southern meagre)
 * Argyrosomus inodorus Griffiths & Heemstra, 1995 (Mild meagre)
 * Argyrosomus japonicus (Temminck & Schlegel,1843) (Japanese meagre)
 * Argyrosomus regius (Asso y del Rio, 1801) (Meagre)
 * Argyrosomus thorpei M. M. Smith, 1977 (Squaretail kob)

Characteristics
Argyrosomus meagres have a fairly elongated and moderately compressed body with a dorsal profile that is more convex than the ventral proflle. They have a terminal, slightly oblique mouth with jaws of equal length, or sometimes with a slightly protruding lower jaw. There are 3 pairs of pores and no barbel on the chin. The preoperculum is serrated and the operculum ends in a pair of flattened spines, which are frequently embedded in the skin. They have relatively short pectoral fins and these have a dark fleshy axillary fold at upper end of base of the fin. The caudal fin is ponted in small juveniles and may be S-shaped, rhomboid, rounded in young and adult fish. There are between 47 and 53 scales in the lateral line, typically 51. The tubules in the lateral line are tree-shaped and the scales extend to the end of the caudal fin. Both sexes may have drumming muscles around the swim bladder. These are large fishes with the, largest, the meagre (A. regius) attaining a maximum published total length of 230 cm.

Distribution
Argyrosomus meagres are found in the eastern Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.