Argyrops spinifer Forsskal 1775
Creators: name: Siddiqui, Pirzada Jamal
name: Amir, Shabir Ali
name: Masroor, Rafaqat
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Sparidae
Argyrops
Argyrops spinifer

description: Argyrops spinifer (Forsskål, 1775)   
Common name: King Soldierbream  
Local names: Dhand (Sindh); Malelak (Balochistan) (Figures 5 & 15 V; Table 1)  
 Pagrus ciliaris von Bonde, 1923: 19, Pl. 5 (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, southwestern Indian Ocean). Sparus spinifer Forsskål, 1775: 32, xi (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea.)   
 Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from other sparid species by the following combination of characters: body deep and compressed, its depth 49.4–53.4% of SL; head large, 30.5–34% of SL. Profile of head very steep, the section between the eyes and the mouth being almost straight, interorbital scaly; first two dorsal spines very short; third to seventh spines flexible, flattened and prolonged into long filaments (these spines elongate and filamentous in juveniles to young, get shorter with age, reaching sometimes beyond caudal fin).   
 Description. Dorsal rays XII, 10; anal rays III,8; pectoral rays 15; lateral line scales 49–53; gill rakers small 15–16, ten on lower arch (Figure 15 Z); Body deep and compressed, its depth 1.9–2.0 in SL; anterio-dorsal profile of head steep with a slight bump before eye (mainly in large adult male, developing a grotesque hump on nape); eye moderate in size, orbit diameter 9.2–10.2% of SL; mouth slightly oblique; upper jaw length 12.1–14.4% of SL; maxilla reaching to vertical through front border of eye; front of upper and lower jaws with four canine teeth; side of each jaws (upper and lower) with two to three rows of molars; the first three teeth in outer row of upper jaw (just after the canine) are blunt conical teeth, becoming molariform posteriorly. Scales on upper part of head extending in a triangular prolongation to between eyes (Figure 5 b) cheeks with 5–6 transvers row of scales; preoperculum with 5 transverse rows of scales; first anal spine less than half length of 2nd, which is sub equal to 3rd anal spine and less then snout length. Pectoral-fins length longer than head length; pelvic-fins with the first ray produced and near to head length; caudal fin weakly forked.   
 Color of fresh specimens. Head and body silvery pink with gold-lines (scales centres golden and pinkish, edges silvery); snout and nape area more pinkish; operculum with silvery and pinkish shade; pectoral, pelvic, anal and caudal fins are light pinkish and hyaline, some black streaks in anal-fins. Diffused red spot in axil of pectoral-fin. Overall the body color is pinkish-red, especially the head, while the flanks and underside are paler or white.   
 Distribution. Red Sea, Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Madagascar and western Mascarenes east to Indonesia, north to South China Sea and south to northern Australia. This species has been reported from Pakistan (Bianchi, 1985; Hoda, 1988; Jalil & Khalil-Uddin, 1981) and can presumably be found in wider range in Iran, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.   
 Remarks. Heemstra and Heemstra (2004) reported XI–XII, 10–11 dorsal-fin rays and 4–6 canine teeth on anterior portions of both jaws in this species. Weber and De Beaufort (1936) recorded XI,10 dorsal-fin rays, six smaller canines in the lower jaw and 2nd to 5th dorsal spine prolonged into long filaments. Contrary to Weber & Beaufort (1936), our specimens have XII, 10 dorsal-fin rays and 4 canine teeth in both jaws, and third to seventh dorsal spines prolonged into long filaments.
description: Published as part of Siddiqui, Pirzada Jamal, Amir, Shabir Ali & Masroor, Rafaqat, 2014, The sparid fishes of Pakistan, with new distribution records, pp. 71-100 in Zootaxa 3857 (1) on page 79, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3857.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/228181