Fish of the Microstoma genus of the Microstomatidae (pencil smelts) family of the Argentinoidei suborder of the Argentiniformes order of the Protacanthopterygii superorder.
(Slender argentine. Photo by © Alberto Monteleone. colapisci.it)
Slender argentine (Microstoma microstoma) was first described in 1810 by the French naturalist Antoine Risso (1777-1845).
It is a pelagic deep-sea single fish. The maximum recorded length is 21 cm. It feeds on zooplankton.
(Slender argentine. Photo © ilmaredamare.com)
It is a rare inhabitant of the Adriatic, it occurred in the southern part of the sea several times.
Names of slender argentine (Microstoma microstoma) in other languages are as follows:
Argjendina e hollë (Albanian), Microstoma (Spanish), Microstoma (Italian), Обыкновенная микростома (Obyknovennaya microstoma), Обыкновенный малорот (Obyknovenniy malorot) (Russian).