The Porgy Family – Sparidae
There are currently FOURTEEN members of the Porgy or Sparidae Family, thirteen from the Atlantic Ocean and one from the Pacific Ocean, presented in this website:
FROM THE ATLANTIC (13):
Jolthead Porgy, Calamus banonado
FROM THE PACIFIC (1):
The fish of the Porgy or Sparidae Family has one hundred sixteen global members that have been placed into thirty-eight genera of which eighteen species are found in Mexican waters, seventeen in the Atlantic Ocean and one in the Pacific Ocean. One third of the world’s population of Porgies is found in South African waters. They are very similar to the grunts (Haemulidae Family) however they have heavy very strong molariform teeth. They are known in Mexico’s fishing areas as plumas.
The Porgies are small to medium sized fish with oblong to oval deep compressed bodies, the largest being 75 cm (29.5 inches) but most are much smaller. They are highly variable in color and are either silvery or golden with pink, red, yellow or gray tinges. Many have dark or colored spots, stripes or bars. Porgies have large heads with long faces that have a steep upper profile with well-developed teeth that are either conical (canine-like) or flattened (incisor-like). They have 7 to 20 gill rakers on the lower arch. They have an anal fin with 3 spines (the second of which is often stout) and 7 to 15 soft rays, a caudal fin that is slightly concave to deeply forked, a single dorsal fin with 10 to 13 spines and 9 to 17 soft rays that are not separated by a notch, long and pointed pectoral fins and pelvic fins with 1 spine and 5 rays that are inserted just behind the pectoral fin base. They have a continuous lateral line that extended into the caudal fin base. The bodies are covered with either smooth or rough scales.
Porgies are demersal inhabitants of the continental shelf and slope that are found in a variety of habitats including brackish estuaries, bays, coastal reefs and deeper waters. They form aggregations as juveniles with the mature adults becoming more solitary and moving to deeper waters. Some porgies are hermaphroditism undergoing a mid-life sex reversal from male to female. They feed on a variety of plants and animals, however benthic invertebrates such as crabs, mollusks, and urchins and their major foods.
The Porgies are an excellent food fish of notable commercial importance. For example the Western Central Pacific produces approximately 4,000 tons annually.