Saucereye Porgy, Calamus calamus
Saucereye Porgy, Calamus calamus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, July 2021. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Saucereye Porgy, Calamus calamus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, July 2021. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch courtesy of Carson Moore, Peoria, Arizona. Photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.
Saucereye Porgy, Calamus calamus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Key West, Florida, March 2017. Length: 43 cm (17 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Dean Kimberly, Atlanta, Georgia.
The Saucereye Porgy, Calamus calamus, is a member of the Porgy or Sparidae Family, and is known in Mexico as pluma calamo. Globally, there are thirteen species in the genus Calamus, of which nine are found in Mexican waters, eight in the Atlantic Ocean and one in the Pacific Ocean.
The Saucereye Porgy has a “porgy-like”, laterally compressed, and relatively deep body with a depth that is 44% to 48% of standard length. They are iridescent silver with a bright blue curved line under their eyes. Their forehead and snout have yellow tinges and their cheeks have yellow and blue spotting than can fuse into lines. They have blue spots on top of their gill covers and the base of their pectoral fins. Their head is deep with a steep profile at a 51o to 55o angle (a key to identification) and their forehead has a bump before the eyes. They have large eyes and a small mouth with thin lips that do not reach the eyes. They are equipped with canine teeth, 2 rows of slender conical teeth on their top jaw, 3 rows of slender conical teeth on the bottom at the front of each jaw, and small molariform teeth on the sides of each jaw. Their anal fin has 3 short spines and 11 rays; their caudal fin is forked; their dorsal fin is low with 13 spines and 12 rays; and, their pectoral fins are long and reach past the anal fin origin. Their body is covered with scales.
The Saucereye Porgy is a common demersal coastal species found in seagrasses, over sandy bottoms, and within coral reefs at depths up to 76 m (250 feet). They reach a maximum of 56 cm (22 inches) in length and of 1.4 kg (3 lbs 0 oz) in weight. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 0.68 kg (1 lb 8 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters of the Bahamas in February 2001. They are abundant throughout most of their range. Adults are found in coral areas whereas juveniles are found in areas with vegetation. They feed primarily on invertebrates including brittle stars, crabs, mollusks, sea urchins, and worms. The Saucereye Porgy is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Saucereye Porgy is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean.
The Saucereye Porgy is very similar in shape to a series of other Porgies and is most likely confused with the Jolthead Porgy, Calamus bajonado (sloping 38o to 42o head profile), the Knobbed Porgy, Calamus nodosus (purple and yellow spotted cheeks), the Littlehead Porgy, Calamus proridens (blue rectangle behind each eye), the Pluma Porgy, Calamus pennatula (blue rectangle behind each eye), and the Whitebone Porgy, Calamus leucosteus (blue lines above and below each eye).
From a conservation perspective the Saucereye Porgy is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught as a by-catch by shrimp trawlers and are targeted by recreational fishermen. They are considered an excellent food fish and sold commercially in Cuba. They are unregulated in most parts of their range, except for the coastal waters of the southeast United States. They are subject to habitat destruction and overfishing in some parts of their range.