ABSTRACT
Adults of the family Argentinidae are silvery and laterally-compressed, with large eyes, a small mouth, toothless jaws, and strong, recurved teeth on the tongue. The pelvic fins are located near mid-body, the anal fin is located far posteriad below the adipose fin, and the caudal fin is forked. Adults are usually <22 cm SL (Moser 1996c). Argentinids have a straight gut that extends to about mid-body and is lined with transverse rugae for most of its length. The head is relatively small with a rounded, blunted anterior profile. Larval pigmentation usually consists of a series of 6-8 bands or patches of pigment ventrolaterally along the trunk and ends with pigment on the tail. There are four species of Argentina and one species of Glossanodon in our area (Carter & Hartel 2003a), but ELH stages are only known for eggs & larvae of A. silus, a species that is just to the north of our area. Juvenile stages of A. striata and G. polli are shown in Figure Argentinidae 1. A species account is provided for A. silus. Meristic characters are given for the family in Table Argentinoidei 2 and distribution information Table Argentinidae 1, respectively.
