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 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 ...

coastal marine fish with a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark spot, and long spines on the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

. Its large eyes at the front of the head provide it with binocular vision and depth perception, which are important for predators. The John Dory's eye spot on the side of its body also confuses prey, which are scooped up in its big mouth.New Zealand Coastal Fish: John Dory.
/ref> In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, Māori know it as ''kuparu'', and on the East Coast of the North Island, they gave some to Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

on his first voyage to New Zealand in 1769. Several casks of them were pickled.

Name

Various, often doubtful explanations are given of the origin of the name. It may be an arbitrary or jocular variation of

dory A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

(from French ''dorée'', gilded), or an allusion to

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 hero of an old ballad. Others suggest that "John" derives from the French ''jaune'', yellow. The novel ''An Antarctic Mystery'' by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

gives another account, which has some popularity but is probably fanciful: "The legendary etymology of this piscatorial designation is Janitore, the 'door-keeper,' in allusion to

St. Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

, who brought a fish said to be of that species, to Jesus at his command." Other known names for the John Dory are the "St. Pierre", or "Peter's Fish", perhaps explaining why

dories A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

were often referred to as "Peter Boats", Saint Peter being the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of fishermen. A related legend says that the dark spot on the fish's flank is St. Peter's thumbprint. In the north coast of Spain, it is known commonly as San Martiño.

Morphology

The John Dory grows to a maximum size of 65 cm (2 ft) and 5 kg (12 lb) in weight. It has 10 long spines on its dorsal fin and 4 spines on its

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...

. It has microscopic, sharp scales that run around the body. The fish is an olive green color with a silver white belly and has a dark spot on its side. Its eyes are near the top of its head. It has a flat, round body shape and is a poor swimmer.

Prey and predators

The John Dory catches prey by stalking it, then extending its jaw forward in a tube-like structure to suck the fish in with some water. The water then flows out through the gills; the pre-maxillary bone, the only tooth-bearing bone in this fish, is used to grind the food. The John Dory has a high laterally compressed body – its body is so thin it can hardly be seen from the front. The large eyes at the front of the head provide it with the binocular vision and depth perception it needs to catch prey. This eye spot also confuses prey, which can then be sucked into its mouth.Walrond, Carl (2006
Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor
''Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. Accessed 28 May 2019. It primarily eats smaller fish, especially schooling fish such as

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

s. Occasionally it eats

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fittin ...

and

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...

. Its main predators are sharks such as the dusky shark, and large bony fish.

Habitat

John Dory are

benthopelagic 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 ...

coastal fish, found on the coasts of Africa, South East Asia,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, the coasts of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, and on the coasts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. They live near the seabed, living in depths from 5 metres (15 ft) to 360 metres (1200 ft). They are normally solitary.

Reproduction and lifespan

When John Dories are 3 or 4 years of age, they are ready to reproduce. This happens around the end of winter. They are substrate scatterers, which means that they release sperm and eggs into the water to fertilize. Typical lifespan is about 12 years in the wild.

As food

The cookery writer

Eliza Acton Eliza Acton (17 April 1799 – 13 February 1859) was an English food writer and poet who produced one of Britain's first cookery books aimed at the domestic reader, '' Modern Cookery for Private Families''. The book introduced the now-un ...

observes in her 1845 book, ''

Modern Cookery for Private Families ''Modern Cookery for Private Families'' is an English cookery book by Eliza Acton. It was first published by Longmans in 1845, and was a best-seller, running through 13 editions by 1853, though its sales were later overtaken by Mrs Beeton. On th ...

'', that John Dory "though of uninviting appearance, is considered by some person(s) as the most delicious fish that appears at hetable". She recommends simply baking it "very gently", avoiding drying it out in the oven.

References

Sources

External links

* * Article on the British Sea Fishing forum: http://britishseafishing.co.uk/john-dory/ * {{Taxonbar, from=Q7045 Zeus (fish) Commercial fish Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish of the Black Sea Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Extant Oligocene first appearances