The Sparidae are a

family 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. Idea ...

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% ...

in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The

sheepshead Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * '' Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central ...

, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compressed fish with a small mouth separated by a broad space from the eye, a single dorsal fin with strong spines and soft rays, a short anal fin, long pointed pectoral fins and rather large firmly attached scales. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters and are bottom-dwelling carnivores. There are hermaphrodites in the Sparidae. Protogyny and

protandry Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...

appear sporadically through this lineage of fish. Simultaneous hermaphrodites and bi-directional hermaphrodites do not appear as much since Sparidae are found in shallower waters. Species of fish that express a hermaphroditic condition usually "lack a genetic hardwire", therefore ecological factors play a role in sex determination. Most species possess grinding, molar-like teeth. Eating the head is known to cause hallucinations, lasting many days. Some of the species, such as '' Polysteganus undulosus'', have been subject to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the ...

, or exploitation beyond sustainable recovery.

Genera

The family Sparidae contains about 155 species in 38 genera: * '' Acanthopagrus'' Peters, 1855 * '' Amamiichthys'' Tanaka & Iwatsuki, 2015 * ''

Archosargus ''Archosargus'' is a genus of fish in the family Sparidae. Species Species include: * '' Archosargus aries'' (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830) * '' Archosargus pourtalesii'' (Steindachner, 1881) * ''Archosargus probatocephalus ...

'' Gill, 1865 * '' Argyrops'' Swainson, 1839 * '' Argyrozona'' Smith, 1938 * '' Boops'' Cuvier, 1814 * '' Boopsoidea'' Castelnau, 1861 * ''

Calamus Calamus may refer to: Botany and zoology * ''Calamus'' (fish), a genus of fish in the family Sparidae * ''Calamus'' (palm), a genus of rattan palms * Calamus, the hollow shaft of a feather, also known as the quill * '' Acorus calamus'', the swe ...

'' Swainson, 1839 * '' Centracanthus'' Rafinesque, 1810 * '' Cheimerius'' Smith, 1938 * '' Chrysoblephus'' Swainson, 1839 * '' Crenidens'' Valenciennes, 1830 * '' Cymatoceps'' Smith, 1938 * '' Dentex'' Cuvier, 1814 * '' Diplodus'' Rafinesque, 1810 * '' Evynnis'' Jordan & Thompson, 1912 * ''

Gymnocrotaphus ''Gymnocrotaphus'' is a ''monospecific genus'' of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. The only species in the genus is the ''Gymnocrotophus curvidens'', the Janbruin, an endemic to th ...

'' Günther, 1859 * ''

Lagodon ''Lagodon'' is a genus of saltwater fish in the family Sparidae, the breams and porgies. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species ''Lagodon rhomboides'', commonly known as pinfish.Masterson, J''Lagodon rhomboides''.Smithsonian Ma ...

'' Holbrook, 1855 * ''

Lithognathus ''Lithognathus'' is ''a'' marine fish genus in the family Sparidae, members of which are commonly known as steenbras. They are primarily found in coastal regions in Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia and Angola), but ''L. mormyrus'' also occ ...

'' Swainson, 1839 * ''

Oblada The saddled seabream (''Oblada melanura''), also called the saddle bream or oblade, is a species of fish of the family Sparidae. It is monotypic in the genus ''Oblada''. Description It has a fuse-shaped blueish-silver body, with a black spot ne ...

'' Cuvier, 1829 * '' Pachymetopon'' Günther, 1859 * ''

Pagellus ''Pagellus'' is a genus of porgies in the family Sparidae The Sparidae are a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are ...

'' Valenciennes, 1830 * '' Pagrus'' Cuvier, 1816 * '' Parargyrops'' Tanaka, 1916 * '' Petrus'' Smith, 1938 * ''

Polyamblyodon ''Polyamblyodon'' is a genus of marin Actinopterygii, ray-finned fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. The fishes in this genus are found in the Western Indian Ocean. Taxonomy ''Polya ...

'' Norman, 1935 * ''

Polysteganus ''Polysteganus'' is a genus of fish in the family Sparidae. Species There are currently 8 recognized species in this genus: * '' Polysteganus baissaci'' M. M. Smith, 1978 (French-man seabream) * '' Polysteganus cerasinus'' Iwatsuki & Heemstra ...

'' Klunzinger, 1870 * '' Porcostoma'' Smith, 1938 * '' Pterogymnus'' Smith, 1938 * '' Rhabdosargus'' Fowler, 1933 * '' Sarpa'' Bonaparte, 1831 * ''

Sparidentex ''Sparidentex'' is a genus of fish in the family Sparidae. Species There are currently 4 recognized of this genus: * '' Sparidentex belayewi'' Hora & Misra, 1943 * '' Sparidentex datnia'' F. Hamilton, 1822 * '' Sparidentex jamalensis'' S. ...

'' Munro, 1948 * ''

Sparodon ''Sparodon'', commonly known as the white musselcracker, musselcracker seabream, mussel cracker seabream, brusher, or cracker. is a monotypic genus of fish in the family Sparidae. The type and only known species, ''Sparodon durbanensis'', was fi ...

'' Smith, 1938 * ''

Sparus The gilt-head (sea) bream (''Sparus aurata''), known as Orata in antiquity and still today in Italy and Tunisia (known as "Dorada" in Spain, "Dourada" in Portugal and "Dorade Royale" in France), is a fish of the bream family Sparidae found in t ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''

Spicara ''Spicara'' is a genus of picarels native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Indian Ocean. Species There are currently eight recognized species in this genus: * '' Spicara alta'' ( Osório, 1917) (Bigeye picarel) * '' Spicara austral ...

'' Rafinesque, 1810 * '' Spondyliosoma'' Cantor, 1849 * '' Stenotomus'' Gill, 1865 * ''

Virididentex ''Virididentex acromegalus'' (common name: ''bulldog dentex'') is a species of carnivorous marine fish of the family Sparidae. It is the only species of the genus ''Virididentex''. It is endemic to Cape Verde , national_anthem = ...

'' Poll, 1971

Timeline of genera

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-65.5 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2 bar:NAM3 bar:NAM4 bar:NAM5 bar:NAM6 bar:NAM7 bar:NAM8 bar:NAM9 bar:NAM10 bar:NAM11 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of ...

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:eocene bar:NAM1 from: -55.8 till: 0 text:

color:eocene bar:NAM2 from: -55.8 till: 0 text:

Sargus ''Sargus'' is a genus of soldier flies in the family Stratiomyidae. There are at least 130 described species in ''Sargus''. Selected species *'' S. albibarbus'' Loew, 1855 *'' S. aureopilosus'' McFadden, 1982 *'' S. beppui'' Nagatomi, 19 ...

color:eocene bar:NAM3 from: -55.8 till: 0 text: Pagrus color:eocene bar:NAM4 from: -55.8 till: 0 text: Dentex color:eocene bar:NAM5 from: -48.6 till: 0 text:

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color:eocene bar:NAM7 from: -37.2 till: 0 text: Diplodus color:oligocene bar:NAM8 from: -33.9 till: 0 text:

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color:miocene bar:NAM10 from: -15.97 till: 0 text: Boops color:miocene bar:NAM11 from: -11.608 till: 0 text: Crenidens PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:era from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

Cookery

The most celebrated of the breams in cookery are the gilt-head bream and the common dentex. Davidson, A. ''Mediterranean Seafood'', Penguin, 1972. , pp. 86–108.

References

{{Authority control Sport fish Marine fish families Articles which contain graphical timelines Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque

Genera

Timeline of genera

Cookery

See also

References