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The Silver porgy, Diplodus argenteus is an ocean-going species of Sparid fish in the genus Diplodus. It is also called the South American Silver porgy, the White bream in Uruguay, plus the Silver seabream and the Sargo though the latter two names are also used for other fish species as well.

Taxonomy and naming
The Silver porgy was originally desrcibed in 1830 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes as Sargus argenteus, but was later moved from the genus Sargus into Diplodus. Another binomial name, Sparus sargo was erected by Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga in 1923 to describe fishes that are now considered to be silver porgies as well, meaning that Sparus sargo is considered a junior synonym.

Etymology
The genus name, Diplodus means "double toothed"- a description which was not well explained, but could have been done in reference to the two types of teeth, incisor-like and molar-like, or to the double incisor-like teeth of this genus. The species name argenteus comes from the Latin word for silver, which is a reference to the fish's coloration.

Description
As its name suggests, this species' silvery coloration (often with yellowish tint on the scales and fins) is a significant characteristic of its appearance. In addition to this, there are nine dark, narrow bars that can be faintly visible on the anterior portion of its body (especially in younger individuals as they fade with age), and there is also a large, black blotch on the caudal peduncle, and the opercular membrane is also very dark in color. The Silvery porgy's dorsal fin is made up of 12 spines, but 13-15 soft rays. It's anal fin is consists of only 3 spines, but 12-14 soft rays. Mature Silver porgies are about 20 to 23cm in length, while the maximum known sizes for this species are 37.8cm in length and weights of 2.5kg.

Distribution and habitat
The Silver porgy is known primarily from the western Atlantic Ocean, where it can be found in southern Florida as well as the Antilles and Bahamas. Along the coast of South America, it is known from Colombia and Venezuela to Argentina- as far south as the coast of northern Patagonia. They are also found in the Bay of Campeche, which is part of the Gulf of Mexico. They can even be found in the waters around Bermuda, but are not especially common. (sounds database et al)

Adult Silver porgies usually inhabit clear but turbulent water over rocky or coral bottoms, especially on unsheltered coasts that are heavily affected by surf. Juveniles, on the other hand, can be found in much shallower water, in pools between rocks, though mid-sized individuals up to 10cm can be found in beds of seagrass from the genus Thalassia.

Biology
Silver progies eat mostly shellfish especially crustaceans and mollusks, however the remains of algae and polychete worms have also been found in the stomachs of fishes collected from the Brazilian coast. behaviour: often forms large schools 2-3m deep (sounds database). reproduction,

Relationship with humans
The Silver porgy is considered a minor gamefish and is also fished commercially, but only traded locally. Able to be caught via angling or through traps, it makes up a major portion of the catch in the Cabo Frio region of Brazil, but is generally caught incidentally, and is even reported rare from fisheries in Cuba. Catches are generally very small and come from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, through fishing for this species off the United States East Coast and Brazil once dominated the Silver porgy catch for most of the late 20th Century.

Because of its habitat and distribution, this species is often encountered by recreational SCUBA divers and snorklers. Despite its fairly high probably of being encountered in certain ecosystems, the Silver porgy is generally standoffish and seldom approaches divers.