Argyrosomus japonicus


Argyrosomus japonicus is a silvery to bronze-green colored fish, a member of the family Sciaenidae, which may grow up to in length. It is known as mulloway or jewfish on the east coast of Australia, butterfish in South Australia, kingfish or river kingfish in Western Australia, and dusky/squaretail kob, Dusky Salmon, Salmon or kabeljou in South Africa. The name jewfish refers to its large otoliths, which are prized as "jewels" by some fishers.

Description

Argyrosomus japonicus is a large, slender fish which can grow to. It has a copper-colored head and is silvery with a bronze-green dorsal surface and paler belly. It has with a row of distinctive white spots running along the lateral line. The caudal fin is angular in juveniles but becomes more rounded in larger fish.

Distribution and habitat

Argyrosomus japonicus has an Indo-Pacific distribution occurring in coastal waters surrounding Australia, Africa, India, Pakistan, China, Korea and Japan. Adults are gregarious and are found over soft bottoms mainly beyond the surf zone, occasionally going inshore. Juveniles are exclusively found in shallow water and sometimes move into estuaries.