Sea breams

Sea breams are oval-bodied reef and coastal fish with a steep, sloped head. In this app the group includes the salema porgy, the common two-banded seabream, and the gilthead seabream.

The mark that settles it is the steep, sloped forehead leading to a small mouth on an oval body. Members are mostly told apart by colour pattern, stripes, and spots.

Sea breams have an oval, somewhat flattened body with a large head that slopes steeply down to the mouth. They have one long dorsal fin and a tail that is notched or forked. Colour varies a lot across the group, from pink and red to yellow and grey, often with silver or gold tints and spots, stripes, or bars. The largest species reach about 2 metres.

Sea breams live in coastal waters in tropical and temperate seas worldwide. Most stay near the bottom over the continental shelf, and a few species also enter brackish or fresh water.

Sea breams hunt mainly for bottom-living invertebrates. Smaller species and the young of larger species often gather in schools, while large adults tend to be solitary and prefer deeper water. Young fish often look quite different in shape and colour from adults.

Sea breams mostly eat invertebrates that live on the seabed.

Many sea breams are hermaphrodites, meaning one fish can have both male and female sex organs, sometimes at the same time. Some species change sex from male to female or female to male as they grow.

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  Annular Seabream

  Diplodus annularis

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  Common Dentex

  Dentex dentex

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  Common Pandora

  Pagellus erythrinus

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  Common Two-banded Seabream

  Diplodus vulgaris

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  Gilthead seabream

  Sparus aurata

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  Saddled Seabream

  Oblada melanurus