Silvermouth Siphonfish, Jaydia argyrogaster (Weber 1909)

Other Names: Brownspot Cardinalfish, Brown-spotted Cardinalfish

Summary:

A pale brown to silvery cardinalfish with 3-4 irregular rows of large brown spots along the sides, and narrow brown bands radiating from the rear of the eye.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Jaydia argyrogaster in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4964

Silvermouth Siphonfish, Jaydia argyrogaster (Weber 1909)

More Info

Distribution	Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, around the tropical north, to NE of Gladstone, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in Misool, West Papua, south to the Aru Islands, Indonesia. Inhabits sandy and rubble areas, sheltering among rocks, gorgonians and sponges.
Features	Dorsal fin VIl-I,9; Anal fin II,8; Pectoral fin 15-16; Lateral-line scales 24; Predorsal scales 2-3; Developed gill rakers 8-9. Greatest body depth 2.9-3.5 in SL; preopercular margin serrate; preopercular ridge smooth.
Colour	Overall pale with 3-4 horizontal rows of large brown spots on side, belly silvery, 3-4 narrow lines radiating from rear half of eye, and fins pale to dusky.
Fisheries	Occasionally taken as trawl bycatch.
Remarks	Prior to 2012, this species was known as Siphamia argyrogaster; Apogon fuscomaculatus and Apogon argyrogaster.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Greek argyros (= silver) and gaster (= belly), in reference to the silvery internal pigment of the abdomen (the light organ).
Species Citation	Apogon argyrogaster Weber 1909, Notes from the Leyden Museum 31(2): 159. Type locality: west coast of New Guinea, depth 32 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Silvermouth Siphonfish, Jaydia argyrogaster (Weber 1909)

References

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Morrison, S. 1996. A new species of cardinalfish (Apogonidae) from northern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 17: 439-442 (described as Apogon fuscomaculatus, type locality - Northeast of Charles Point, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, about 12°17'S, 130°40'E, depth 18-24 m) See ref online

Allen, G.R. & Myers, R.F. 2022. Jaydia argyrogaster. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T170254610A170779352. Accessed on 11 February 2025.

Gon, O. 1997. Revision of the cardinalfish subgenus Jaydia (Perciformes, Apogonidae, Apogon) in Skelton, P.H. & Lutjeharms, J.R.E. (eds), The J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology - 50 years. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 51(1996): 147–194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00359199609520605

Gon, O., Liao, Y.-C. & Shao, K.-T. 2015. A new species of the cardinalfish genus Jaydia (Teleostei: Apogonidae) from the Philippines. Zootaxa 3980(2): 286-292. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3980.2.9

Kuiter, R.H. & Kozawa, T. 2019. Cardinalfishes of the world. New ed. Seaford, Victoria : Aquatic Photographics, and Okazaki, Aichi, Japan : Anthias, Nexus: 1-198.

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293

Mabuchi, K., Fraser, T.H., Song, H., Azuma, Y. & Nishida, M. 2014. Revision of the systematics of the cardinalfishes (Percomorpha: Apogonidae) based on molecular analyses and comparative reevaluation of morphological characters. Zootaxa 3846(2): 151–203

Weber, M. 1909. Note IV. Diagnosen neuer Fische der Siboga-Expedition. Notes from the Leyden Museum 31(2): 143-169 See ref at BHL