Species: Calamus calamus, Saucereye Porgy

Calamus calamus (Valenciennes, 1830)

Saucereye Porgy

Body deep, compressed; head deep, snout steep, bump before eyes; eye large; rear nostril elongate to slit-like; mouth small, not reaching under eye, lips thin; bone under front of eye overlapsrear bone of top jaw; jaw teeth in 2 rows, conical and slender at front, both jaws with canines at front, 1-2 pairs enlarged on top jaw, 3rd-4th tooth from center out-curved, 2 rows of molariform teeth on side of lower jaw, 3 rows on top; preopercle border smooth; dorsal fin low, XIII, 12 rays; anal fin short, III short spines, 11 soft rays; pectoral fin 14 rays, fin relatively long, reaches past origin of anal fin; cheeks and opercles scaly, but no scales on snout or between the eye and mouth; lateral line scales 51-55.

Irridescent silvery; a bright blue curved line under eye; snout and forehead yellowish; unscaled parts of cheek blue with yellow spots that may fuse to form lines; lips and junction of gill covers under head yellowish to orangish; a small blue spot on base of pectoral fin, and another at top end of gill cover.

Size: to 56 cm.

Habitat: adults in coral areas and nearby sand areas, juveniles in seagrass.

Depth: 1-84 m.

North Carolina to Brazil.