Salema porgy (sarpa salpa)
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Common name Salema porgy
Scientific name Sarpa salpa
Class Osteichthyes
Order Perciformes
Family Sparidae
Distribution The Mediterranean, the Black Sea (not all) and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to South Africa.
Habitat rocky or sandy/muddy substrates covered in algae or amidst meadows of Posidonia oceanica, from the surface up to depths of approx. 20 metres.
Dimensions Can grow to a length of 50 cm.
Characteristicts 10-12 longitudinal stripes of a golden orangey colour on the sides.

Description
The body is oval and symmetric and has a uniform convex profile. They have a small mouth with thick lips and short dorsal and anal fins with fine spiny rays. The caudal fin is forked with acute lobes and has a characteristic black spot at the base. The salema has an overall silver appearance with 10 to 12 longitudinal stripes of a golden orangey colour on the sides. The head is slightly darker and the underside lighter in colour.

Biology
The salema lives in shoals and tend to swim pretty close together in an orderly fashion. The species isprotogynous hermaphrodite and reproduces in the spring and autumn. Juveniles are carnivorous but the adults are amongst the few herbivore fish to be found in the Mediterranean and feed almost exclusively on algae growing on rocks or amongst the Posidonia oceanica prairies.