REMARKS Maximum length 70 cm. Adults are marked by a large black spot on the shoulder. The back is usually grey or red-grey.
Younger specimens are prettily marked by blue spots on their backs. This led some authorities to distinguish them as a separate species. The error has now been recognized, but younger fish of the species still have different common names in certain languages, notably blue-spotted bream in English, bogaravelle (Fr.), rovello (It.), goraz (Sp.) and bogaravell (Cat.).