Monodactylus argenteus
| Monodactylus argenteus | |
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| Species: | M. argenteus
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| Monodactylus argenteus | |
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Monodactylus argentus is a species of fish in the family Monodactylidae, the moonyfishes. Its common names include silver moonyfish, or silver moony,[1] butter bream, and diamondfish.[2] It is native to the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, including the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and associated estuaries, such as the Mekong Delta.[1]
This species reaches a maximum length of about 27 centimeters. It is bright shiny silver with yellowish edges to the fins.[1] The dorsal and anal fins have black tips.[2] Juveniles have more yellow coloration[1] and are distinguished by two vertical black bands.[3]
This species occurs in a wide variety of habitat types, including the open ocean, brackish waters, and the freshwater habitat of rivers.[1] In Australia it can be found in harbors and estuaries around piers.[2] Its ability to survive in a wide range of salinities makes it a model organism in the study of salinity tolerance.[4][3] Juveniles are especially tolerant to salinity changes, easily maintaining homeostasis in variable environments such as estuaries.[3]
It can remain solitary or form schools. It is a detritivore and planktivore.[1] The silver moony displays territorial behavior.[1]
This species can be kept in aquaria and is easy to rear in captivity.[4]
The myxozoan parasite Kudoa monodactyli was first described from and named after this fish.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Editors. Monodactylus argenteus. FishBase. 2017.
- ^ a b c Monodactylus argenteus. Fishes of Australia.
- ^ a b c Kang, C., et al. (2012). Effects of low environmental salinity on the cellular profiles and expression of Na, K-ATPase and Na, K, 2Cl 2 cotransporter 1 of branchial mitochondrion-rich cells in the juvenile marine fish Monodactylus argenteus. Fish Physiol Biochem 38 665-678.
- ^ a b Yang, S., et al. (2015) Comparisons of two types of teleostean pseudobranchs, silver moony (Monodactylus argenteus) and tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), with salinity‑dependent morphology and ion transporter expression. J Comp Physiol B185 677-693.
- ^ Gunter, N. L., et al. (2006). Characterization of Kudoa monodactyli n. sp.(Myxosporea: Multivalvulida) from the muscle of Monodactylus argenteus (Teleostei: Monodactylidae) from Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 53(5), 374.
