Silver spinyfin

Silver spinyfin
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Beryciformes
Family:	Diretmidae
Genus:	Diretmus
Species:	D. argenteus
Binomial name
Diretmus argenteus Johnson, 1864

The silver spinyfin, Diretmus argenteus, is a spinyfin of the genus Diretmus, found around the world except the Mediterranean, at depths down to 2,000 m. It belongs to the monotypic genus Diretmus. Their length is between 30 and 40 cm.

The silver spinyfin is a widely distributed but rare species with a flattened disc-shaped body with a sharp scute-covered edge on the belly. A large upturned mouth and huge eye dominate the front half of the disc and a small forked tail projects from the other. They are oviparous and the larvae spend time in the plankton.

It has small spiny scales but no lateral line and is a uniform silvery colour, the top of the back being black.

References

• "Diretmus argenteus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=166133. Retrieved 19 March 2006. 
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Diretmus argenteus" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
• Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8