Pagrus Auriga (Valenciennes, 1843)

Family Sparidae

REMARKS Maximum length 80 cm. Usually marked by four red-brown vertical bands, which tend to disappear as the fish grows older. Fairly common in Tunisian and Algerian waters, but rare in most other parts of the Mediterranean.

A relation, Pagrus caeruleostictus (Valenciennes, 1830), is shown below. It has a maximum length of 90 cm. The sides of this species are marked by sky-blue spots (hence the English name blue-spotted sea bream), but these disappear after death. French names are pagre à points bleus and pagre bossu. In Italian it is pagro; but, since it is as much an Atlantic as a Mediterranean species, it may be found as dentice Atlántico in Italian markets. Other names are: Greek, fagri; Spanish, zapata; and Tunisian, jeghali.