Herring smelt

Taxobox
name = Herring smelts or argentines

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image_width = 240px
image_caption = Greater argentine, "Argentina silus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Osmeriformes
familia = Argentinidae
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Argentina" "Glossanodon" See text for species.The herring smelts or argentines are a family, Argentinidae, of osmeriform fishes. They are similar in appearance to smelts (family Osmeridae) but have much smaller mouths.

They are found in oceans throughout the world. They are small fishes, growing up to 25 cm long, excepting the Greater argentine, "Argentina silus", which reaches 70 cm.

They form large schools close to the sea floor and feed on plankton, especially krill, amphipods, small cephalopods, chaetognaths and ctenophores.

Several species are fished commercially and processed into fish meal.

pecies

There are 25 species in two genera:
* Genus "Argentina"
** Alice argentina, "Argentina aliceae" Cohen & Atsaides, 1969.
** "Argentina australiae" Cohen, 1958.
** Bruce's argentine, "Argentina brucei" Cohen & Atsaides, 1969.
** "Argentina elongata" Hutton, 1879.
** "Argentina euchus" Cohen, 1961.
** "Argentina georgei" Cohen & Atsaides, 1969.
** "Argentina kagoshimae" Jordan & Snyder, 1902.
** North-Pacific argentine, "Argentina sialis" Gilbert, 1890.
** Greater argentine, "Argentina silus" (Ascanius, 1775).
** "Argentina sphyraena" Linnaeus, 1758.
** "Argentina stewarti" Cohen & Atsaides, 1969.
** Striated argentine, "Argentina striata" Goode & Bean, 1896.
* Genus "Glossanodon"
** "Glossanodon australis" Kobyliansky, 1998.
** "Glossanodon danieli" Parin & Shcherbachev, 1982.
** "Glossanodon elongatus" (Hutton, 1879).
** Small-toothed argentine, "Glossanodon leioglossus" (Valenciennes, 1848).
** "Glossanodon lineatus" (Matsubara, 1943).
** "Glossanodon melanomanus" Kobyliansky, 1998.
** "Glossanodon mildredae" Cohen & Atsaides, 1969.
** "Glossanodon nazca" Parin & Shcherbachev, 1982.
** "Glossanodon polli" Cohen, 1958.
** "Glossanodon pseudolineatus" Kobyliansky, 1998.
** Pygmy argentine, "Glossanodon pygmaeus" Cohen, 1958.
** "Glossanodon semifasciatus" (Kishinouye, 1904).
** Struhsaker's deep-sea smelt, "Glossanodon struhsakeri" Cohen, 1970.

References

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