Argyrosomus japonicus
Mulloway | Butterfish | Croaker | Japanese Meagre | Jewfish | Kingfish | Kingy | Kob | River Kingfish | School Jew | Schoolies | Silver Croaker | Silver Jewfish | Soapy | Southern Meagre | Argyrosomus antarcticus
Distribution
Temperate Africa, Temperate Australasia, Temperate northern Pacific, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Large, silvery steel-grey body with a series of white spots along the lateral line, and a slightly rounded rear tail margin. Similar Teraglin Atractoscion aequidens, found in deeper southern Queensland waters, differs in possessing an indented rather than rounded rear tail margin. Adults spawn outside the surf zone of coastal beaches, larvae then drifting at sea for several months before moving into estuaries as juveniles.
Information
Max Size: 181 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 13.2-28.2°C
Depth: 2-150m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Infrequent (1.7% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Several (9 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney