Species: Pagrus pagrus, Red Porgy

Pagrus pagrus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Red Porgy

Body oblong, compressed; head deep, upper profile rounded; eye not high on head, distance to mouth ~equal to eye diameter; rear nostril oblong, larger than front nostril; mouth small, opens at front; bone under front of eye overlaps rear bone of top jaw; jaw teeth in 2 rows, slender, close-set canines at front (4 above, 6 below), molars on side; preopercle border smooth; dorsal fin low, XII, 10; anal fin short, III short spines, 8 rays; pectoral long, much longer than pelvic; tail forked; lateral line 54-57 scales; cheeks and opercles scaly, but no scales on snout or between the eye and mouth.

Back and upper sides pink, with an indistinct yellow spot on each scale of upper half of body; yellow between eyes; yellow on snout and top lip; dorsal, pectoral and tail fins pink; tips of tail whitish.

Reaches 91 cm.

Lives on rocky and hard sand bottoms.

Depth range: 10-250 m, usually 10-80 m.

New York to Argentina; also in the E Atlantic and Mediterranean.