habitat_narrative
Marine
Argyrops filamentosus is found in small shoals on flatter, outer edges of reefs between 20 and 50 m (van der Elst 1988) and also occurs over sand bottoms adjacent to coral reefs (Fricke et al. 2009). This species feeds on crustaceans and molluscs (van der Elst 1988).Argyrops filamentosus can attain 70 cm in length but is more commonly found to 40 cm (Al-Marzouqi et al. 2012). The ages at first maturity for females and males are estimated to be 22.2 cm TL and 27.5 cm TL, respectively (Al-Marzouqi et al. 2009) and attain maturity during the second year of life in the Arabian Sea (Jayabalan et al. 2011). The maximum age for this species is estimated to be seven to eight years in the Arabian Sea and to ten years in the Gulf of Aden (Druzhinin 1975, Al-Marzouqi et al. 2012). In the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman, the peak spawning period is from September to January. Argyrops filamentosus is believed to spawn more than once a year and the fecundity of females was found to range from 73,363 to 386,521 eggs (Jayabalan et al. 2011).
Generation length for A. filamentosus is estimated to be three years, using the following equation for a gonochorist fish species: Generation length = Σxlxmx/Σlxmx (Provided by Prof. Colin Attwood, University of Cape Town).
