Line
Class
kgs |
Line
Class
lbs |
Weight
in
kgs |
Weight
in
lbs. ozs |
Place
of
capture |
Country
of
capture |
Date
of
capture |
Name
of
angler |
SMELT GREATER SILVER / ARGENTINA SILUS |
| AT |
AT |
1.08 |
2.6 |
Hitra |
Norway |
070789 |
J. Agren |
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The greater silver smelt (ARGENTINA SILUS)
has a pointed nose, deeply forked tail, and slender, compressed body, but it has much larger eyes than either smelt or capelin, a character no doubt associated with its deep-water home; its mouth is much smaller, not gaping back even as far as the eye; and its dorsal fin stands wholly in front of the ventrals, instead of above them as it does in both the smelt and the capelin.
The body of the argentine (about one-fifth as deep as long) tapers toward both head and tail, but its sides are so flat, and its back and belly so broad, that it is nearly rectangular in cross section instead of oval. Its scales, too, are larger than those of the smelt, there being only 60 to 70 rows along the lateral line. Its adipose fin is very small and its jaws are toothless, though its palate and tongue are armed with small teeth.
The color of the adult is variously described by different authors. All agree, however, that the back is brownish or olivaceous, the sides silvery or with iridescent golden or brassy luster, and the belly white. The adipose fin is yellowish.
The distribution of the greater silver smelt is as follows:- Eastern Atlantic: Svalbard to west coasts of Scotland and Ireland, deeper parts of North Sea and across the Wyville Thomson ridge to Denmark Strait. Western Atlantic: Davis Strait to George's Bank in Canada.
Probably form schools close to the bottom. Feeds on planktonic invertebrates including euphausiids, amphipods, chaetognaths, squids and ctenophores, also small fishes. Spawns from April to July (Ref. 4773). Growth is slow. Eggs and young are pelagic at depths of 400-500m. Used fresh or in fish meal production (Ref. 35388).
Information supplied by http://octopus.gma.org/fogm/Argentina_silus.htm#d0e14597 and http://www.roaldnes.no/serv02.htm
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