Scientific Name	Mesopristes argenteus   Pronounce			by: Lab of Fish Ecol. and Evo., BRCAS
Author	(Cuvier, 1829)	Depth	1 - 25M
Chinese	銀身中鋸鯻	Poisonous Fish	No
Family_Chinese	鯻科	Economic Fish	No
Family	F399　Terapontidae	Edible Fish	Yes	Chinese In Mainland China	銀身中鋸鯻
Max Length	28 cm	Aquarium Fish	No	Common Name	銀雞魚、雞仔魚
Distribution in World	Australia	Distribution in Taiwan	East、LanI Is.
Habitats	Benthos、Estuary、Fresh Water、Coastal	Holotype Locality	Ganges R., India; Java, Indonesia
Synonyms	Datnia argentea, Mesopristes macracanthus, Therapon acutirostris, Therapon argenteus, Therapon chalybeus, Therapon nasutus
Reference	臺灣淡水及河口魚類誌(陳及方, 1999)(1999)  Cuvier, G. etc. 1828 陳義雄,方力行 1999
Specimen List
Common Name	Silver grunter; Silver perch
Redlist Status	Not in IUCN Redlist
Characteristic	Body moderately deep, distinctly compressed laterally, ventral profile of head and body nearly straight to anus, more so in adults. Upper jaw longer than lower. Teeth villiform, in bands in each jaw, outer row of teeth distinctly enlarged; vomer and palatines toothless. Preopercle serrate. First gill arch with 7 to 9 gill rakers on upper limb, 16 to 18 on lower limb. Dorsal fin with XII spines and 10 or 11 soft rays; anal fin with III spines and 8 or 9 soft rays. Pored scales in lateral line 52 to 58. Grey on dorsal portions, silvery to silvery white on ventral part; juveniles with 5 longitudinal body stripes; coloration in adults uniform; spinous and soft portions of dorsal fin slightly dusky with blackish pigmentation sometimes present distally, but lacking large black blotch on middle rays; caudal fin dusky, without distinct, dark, oblique stripes.
habitats	Inhabits inshore areas near mangroves. Occurs in lentic and lotic freshwater. Juveniles commonly found in the lower sections of creeks and may penetrate several kilometers into fresh water. Omnivore.
Distribution	Distributed in the Western Pacific from Yaeyama Islands, Japan south to Queensland, Australia and east to New Caledonia. It is very rare and only found in the rivers of eastern Taiwan.
Utility	Food fish; marketed fresh.