Silver grunt (Pomadasys argenteus) is a saltwater, freshwater, brackish species recorded in Taiwan. It is mainly found over sand, mud, estuary, at depths of 15–115 m. The main season in Taiwan runs summer, autumn.
Scientific name: Pomadasys argenteus · Water: Saltwater, Freshwater, Brackish · Season: Summer, Autumn
Size: up to 70 cm
The silver grunt, 銀雞魚 in Taiwan, is a silvery haemulid with barbels under the chin, common along the coast and in estuaries. It feeds in shoals and comes readily to bottom rigs and boat fishing.
The body runs from silvery mauve to pale brown and fades to silvery white towards the belly, with an occasional scattering of dark grey spots on the back and upper flanks. The snout is dark brown and the upper part of the gill cover is dark greyish to purplish. The pelvic and anal fins are yellow, and the dorsal fin carries rows of small spots; juveniles are so heavily spotted that the marks line up into dark streaks along the flanks. The snout is blunt and the small mouth holds brush-like bands of teeth on the jaws. The dorsal fin has 12 spines and 13 or 14 soft rays, the anal fin 3 spines and 7 soft rays. Most fish are in fact only about 25 cm. Its range runs from the southern Red Sea off Saudi Arabia and Yemen east to Vanuatu, north to southern Japan and south to Australia, and it is absent from the Persian Gulf; in Australia it occurs from the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia across the north to the Richmond River in New South Wales. It lives in shallow inshore waters, around reefs, in estuaries and in mangroves, and has been recorded entering fresh water in Madagascar and Malaysia. The spawning season runs from the middle of May to early October, with females spawning about six times in each season. It is predatory, taking benthic invertebrates such as crustaceans, bivalves and polychaetes.
Back to home · Taiwan · Species library