The

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

''dory'' (from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

''dorre'', from the

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...

''doree'', lit. "gilded one") is shared (officially and colloquially) by members of several different

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

of large-eyed, silvery, deep-bodied, laterally compressed, and roughly discoid marine

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

. As well as resembling each other, dories are also similar in habit: most are deep-sea and

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

. Additionally, many species support commercial

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

food fish Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...

. Most dory families belong to the order

Zeiformes The Zeiformes are a small order of marine ray-finned fishes most notable for the dories, a group of common food fish. The order consists of about 33 species in seven families, mostly deep-sea types. Zeiform bodies are usually thin and deep. Mo ...

, suborder Zeioidei: *The "true dories", family

Zeidae The Zeidae (named after Zeus, the supreme god of Greek mythology) are a family of large, showy, deep-bodied zeiform marine fish—the "true dories". Found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, the family contains just six species in tw ...

(five species, including the well-known

John Dory John Dory, St Pierre or Peter's fish, refers to fish of the genus ''Zeus'', especially ''Zeus faber'', of widespread distribution. It is an edible demersal coastal marine fish with a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark ...

) *The zeniontids, family

Zenionidae Zeniontidae is a family of large, showy, deep-bodied zeiform marine fish. Found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean, the family contains just seven species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic r ...

or Zeniontidae (seven species) *The "Australian dories", family

Cyttidae ''Cyttus'' is the sole genus in the family Cyttidae a family of large, showy, deep-bodied zeiform marine fish. Members of this genus are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. Species There are currently three recognized species in ...

(three species all within the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Cyttus'') *The

oreo Oreo () (stylized as OREO) is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet creme filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and split ...

s, family

Oreosomatidae Oreosomatidae, the oreos, are a family of marine fish. Most species are found in the Southern Hemisphere, inhabiting continental slopes down to about deep. Most of then are 43 cm at most, with the largest species reaching a length of 60&nbs ...

(ten species) *The parazen family,

Parazenidae Parazenidae is a family (biology), family of zeiform fishes found in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. References

Zeiformes Ray-finned fish families {{Zeiformes-stub ...

(four species, including the

rosy dory ''Cyttopsis rosea'', the rosy dory, is a zeiform fish which is found on the continental slopes in most parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It growth up to 22 cm and feeds on other fishes and on swimming crustaceans. It is often caught ...

) Additionally, several species of spinyfin (family Diretmidae, order

Beryciformes The Beryciformes are a poorly-understood order of carnivorous ray-finned fishes consisting of 7 families, 30 genera, and 161 species. They feed on small fish and invertebrates. Beyond this, little is known about the biology of most member speci ...

) have been given the name ''dory'' by

fishmonger A fishmonger (historically fishwife for female practitioners) is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, me ...

s. In parts of Southeast Asia, fillets of

Pangasius ''Pangasius'' is a genus of medium-large to very large shark catfishes native to fresh water in South and Southeast Asia. The term "pangasius" is sometimes used to specifically refer to the commercially important basa fish, ''P. bocourti''. Tax ...

sp. catfishes are referred to as ''cream dory'', ''Pangasius dory'' or ''Pacific dory''.

See also