Fish Identified! - Welcome to the Family Sparidae

The Sparidae are a family of fish belonging to the order of Perciformes. They are commonly named Breams, Porgies, Seabreams and Snappers.

There are 38 genera of Sparidae comprising of 154 species. They are distributed in tropical and temperate Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. 11 species occur in Australian waters, with Yellow bream (Acanthopagrus australis), Black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) and Silver seabream (Pagrus auratus) regarded as important commercial, sport and recreational species.

Sparids are characterised by a dorsal fin usually having 10-13 spines; soft rays 10-15. Three spines in anal fin; soft rays 8-14. Maxilla hidden by a sheath when mouth is closed. Branchiostegal rays 6. Vertebrae 24 (10 + 14). To about 1.2 m maximum length. Carnivores of hard-shelled benthic invertebrates. Many species have been found to be hermaphroditic; some have male and female gonads simultaneously; others change sex as they get larger.

A diagram of a fish belonging to the family Sparidae

Sparids inhabit chiefly marine waters, and very rarely inhabit fresh- and brackish water. They are usually most common along the shore from shallow water (including estuaries), to deeper water as demersal inhabitants of the continental shelf and slope.

This information was sourced from http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/search.php