Monodactylus argenteus
Silver batfish | Butter Bream | Butterfish | Diamond Moonfish | Diamondfish | Kitefish | Mono | Natal Moonie | Sea Kite | Silver And Black Butterflyfish | Silver Angelfish | Silver Mono | Silver Moonfish | Silver Moony | Singapore Angelfish
Monodactylus argenteus, Sth West Rocks, NSW, Photo: Ian Shaw
Monodactylus argenteus, Jervis Bay, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Monodactylus argenteus, juvenile, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Photo: Ian Shaw
Monodactylus argenteus, juvenile, Jervis Bay, NSW, Photo: Andrew Green
Similar Species
Distribution
Temperate Australasia, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Silver disc-shaped body with black-tipped yellow dorsal and anal fins, transparent pectoral fin and straight rear tail margin. Juveniles with thin bars through eye and behind operculum. Most often seen in aggregations near the mouths of creeks, also around jetties and other structures.
Information
Max Size: 27 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 16.2-28.1°C
Depth: 0-12 m
Habitat Generalization Index: 1.97
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 (3.6% 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: Many (36 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland