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Home , John Dory, Zeidae

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and for a world without hunger Aquaculture Department

Species Fact Sheets faber (Linnaeus, 1758)

Zeus faber: (click for more) Zeus faber: (click for more)

Synonyms Zeus pungio Valenciennes, 1835: in Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poissons, 10: 25 (Mediterranean). Holotype: MNHN no. A 6860. Zeus japonicus Valenciennes, 1835: 24 Hist. Nat. Poiss. v. 10;. Japan. Based on 2 drawings. Zeus australis Richardson, 1845: 36, 108, Pl. 25 (fig. 1). Ichthy. Erebus and Terror v. 2 (2); Port Jackson, N. S. W., . Holotype (unique): BMNH (skin). Zeus faber mauritanicus Desbrosses, 1937: 379, Rev. Trav. Off. Pêches Marit., 10 (3); (20°21'N - 17°50'W). 1 syntypes: MNHN 1937-0256 (1). Described as a natio and as a race; probably not an available name. Zeus faber pungio Dieuzeide et al., 1954: 175-179, fig.

FAO Names En - , Fr - Saint Pierre, Sp - Pez de San Pedro. 3Alpha Code: JOD Taxonomic Code: 1620100101

Scientific Name with Original Description Zeus faber Linnaeus, 1758. Syst. Nat., ed X: 267 (' in Pelago').

Diagnostic Features Body deep and strongly compressed. Caudal peduncle about as long as deep. Head large, its upper profile straight or convex. Eye moderate in size, contained about 3 or 4 times in head. Mouth large and oblique, jaws massive. Gill rakers rudimentary. with 9 or 11 spines and 21 to 25 soft rays; the spinous portion with filaments about as long as the spines. Anal fin with 4 (rarely 3 to 5) spines and 20 to 24 soft rays. Pelvic fins inserted about below posterior eye margin. Body apparently naked (covered with very small scales not visible without magnification), but spined scutes present along the bases of dorsal (5 to 10) and anal (6 to 11) FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department fins. Bony plates also present on midventral profile. Colour golden greenish grey with a conspicuous ocellus (a black or dark blue spot encirled by a narrow greyish or yellowish border on middle of side). Fin membrane of spinous dorsal fin dark, those of the spinous anal and pelvics black.

Geographical Distribution

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Worldwide distribution. Eastern Atlantic from Norway to South Africa (overlaps with Zeus capensis), including Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands, also Mediterranean and Black Sea. Known from Indian and Western Pacific Ocean as well (Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea, see Heemstra, 1980).

Habitat and Biology Mesopelagic and demersal behaviour. Either near the bottom or in midwater, from the coast to at least 400 m depth, but more common between 20 and 160 m.Mainly in coastal waters.A poor swimmer, generally solitary.Feeds on a wide range of , especially schooling and demersal species. Sometimes also and (alpheid, pandalid and palaemonid). takes place at the end of winter and at the start of spring in the northeastern Atlantic (June- August in Bay of Biscay, western part of English Channel, see Quero, 1986).

Size Maximum 65 cm; common to 40 cm.

Interest to Fisheries Reported to be rather abundant off Morocco, Senegal and Madeira. The 1978 catch reported for this species from the fishing area 34 and fishing area 47 (Eastern central Atlantic) 493 t (Morocco, 105; U.S.S.R., 287 t; Portugal, 78 t; Japan, 23 t). Caught mainly with bottom trawls. Is an excellent foodfish, marketed fresh, frozen, dried salted and smoked. Also used for fishmeal and oil by industrial offshore fishing fleets.

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Global Capture Production for species (tonnes) Source: FAO FishStat 15k

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Zeus faber

Local Names ALBANIA : Peshk kovac . ANGOLA : Alfaquete , Alfaquim , Alfaquique , Galo , Galocristo , Peixe-galo , São Pedro . CROATIA : Kovac , Sanpjer . DENMARK : Sankt Petersfisk . FINLAND : Pietarinkala . FRANCE : Dorede , Doreé , Gal , Jan , Jan dorè , La rose , Pèis Saint-Pierre , Poisson de Saint-Martin , Poule de mer , Saint-Pierre , Saint Pierre dorè , Saint Pierre du Pacifique , Tresuo , Zee á épaule armée , Zee forgeon . GERMANY : HeringsKönig , Petersfisch . GREECE : Christopsaro . IRELAND : An deoraí , John Dory . ITALY : Pesce San Pé , Pesce gallo , Pesce San Pietro , Pisci gaddu , Sampieri , Vallo . JAPAN : Matôdai . LEBANON : Shibr . MALTA : Huta San Pietru , Moxt , Pixxi San Pietru , Pixxispad , San Pietru . MAURITANIA : Dory , Gallo marino , Poule de mer , St. Pierre . MOZAMBIQUE : São Pedro comum . NAMIBIA : John Dory . NETHERLANDS : Zonnevis . NEW ZEALAND : John Dory , Kuparu . NORWAY : St. Petersfisk . POLAND : Piotrosz japónski . PORTUGAL : Galo-japonês , Galo-negro , Peixe-galo , Peixe-galo-negro , Peixe-são-pedro . ROMANIA : Dulgher .

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department SLOVENIA : Kovaè . SOUTH AFRICA : Jandorie , John Dory . SPAIN : Gall de mar , Pez de San Pedro , Pez de San martín , San martiño , San Pedro . SWEDEN : St. Persfisk . TUNISIA : Hout sidi sliman . UKRAINE : Solnechnik . UNITED KINGDOM : Atlantic John dory , Doree , Girti , John dory , St. Peter's .

Bibliography Cuvier, G. & A. Valenciennes - 1835. Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome dixième. Suite du livre neuvième. Scombéroïdes. Livre dixième. De la famille des Teuthyes. Livre onzième. De la famille des Taenioïdes. Livre douzième. Des Athérines. v. 10: i-xxiv + 1-482 + 2 pp., Pls. 280-306.. Valenciennes authored volume. i-xix + 1-358 in Strasbourg edition. Desbrosses, P. - 1937. Sur le Saint-Pierre de Mauritanie, du Sénégal et de Guinée. Nouvelle race locale. Zeus faber L. mauritanicus (natio nova). Rev. Trav. Inst. Peches Marit. . v. 10 (no. 3): 379-409.. Dieuzeide, R., M. Novella & J. Roland - 1954. Catalogue des Poissons des côtes algériennes. Bull. Stn Aquic. Pêch. Castiglione II (n.s.) . 5: 1-258, 135 fig. N. num.. Heemstra, P. C. - 1980. A revision of the zeid fishes (: ) of South Africa. Ichthyol. Bull. J. L. B. Smith Inst. Ichthyol. . No. 41: i-iii + 1-18, Pls. 1-2.. J.-C. Quero - 1981. Zeidae In: W. Fischer, G. Bianchi and W. Scott (eds). FAO species identification sheets for purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic; fishing areas 34, 47 (in part). Canada Funds-in-Trust. Ottawa, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, by arrangement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations . vol. IV : pag. var.. Karrer, C. & A. Post - 1990. Zeidae In: J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds). Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT-Portugal, SEI-France, Unesco. . Vol. II: 631 - 633 .. Lloris, D. - 1986. Ictiofauna demersal y aspectos biogeográficos de la costa sudoccidental de África (SWA/Namibia). Monogr. Zool. Mar. . I: 9-432, 228 figs., tab. I-CCI.. Quero, J.-C. - 1986. Zeidae In: P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds). Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (FNAM). Unesco, Paris. . Vol. II: 769-772.. Richardson, J. - 1844-48. Ichthyology of the voyage of H. M. S. Erebus and Terror... In: J. Richardson and J. E. Gray. The zoology of the voyage of H. H. S. "Erebus and Terror", under the command of Captain Sir J. C. Ross ... during ... . v. 2 (2): i-viii + 1-139, Pls. 1-60. [1844: 1-16; 1845: 17-52; 1846: 53-74; 1848: i-viii + 75- 139.].. London. Wheeler, A. - 1973. Zeidae In: J.-C. Hureau and Th. Monod (eds). Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM). Unesco, Paris. . Vol. I: 349-350..

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