---
title: "Silver moony"
description: "Monodactylus argenteus — Fish. Monodactylus argenteus is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Monodactylidae, the moonyfishes."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/silver-moony
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Silver moony

> Monodactylus argenteus — Fish. Monodactylus argenteus is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Monodactylidae, the moonyfishes.

- Scientific name: *Monodactylus argenteus*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2197
- Wikidata: [Q1417646](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1417646)
- iNaturalist taxon: [51323](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51323)

## Names

- en: Silver moony
- de: Silberflossenblatt
- es: Besugo mantequilla
- fr: Lune d'argent
- nl: Zilverbladvis

## Countries with the most observations

AU (1018), TH (84), SG (72), TW (52), MY (49), ID (42), EG (40), SC (38), LK (30), ZA (30), IN (26), SA (24)

## Summary

Monodactylus argenteus is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Monodactylidae, the moonyfishes. Its common name includes silver moonyfish, natal moony, butter bream, and diamondfish. It is native to the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, including the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and associated estuaries such as the Mekong Delta.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monodactylus_argenteus

## Photo

![Silver moony](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/silver-moony/medium.jpg)

Photo: Erwin Sieben · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/261203871

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/silver-moony?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).