The Zeidae (named after the fish ''zaeus'' from

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

) are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of large, showy, deep-bodied

zeiform The Zeiformes are a small order of exclusively marine ray-finned fishes most notable for the dories, a group of common food fish. The order consists of about 33 species in six extant families, mostly deep-sea types. The boarfishes (Caproidae) h ...

marine

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

—the "true dories". Found in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, Indian, and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

s, the family contains just six

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in two

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. All species are important and highly regarded

food fish Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Their meat has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients in the human diet. The English language does not have a s ...

supporting commercial

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

, and some—such as the

John Dory John Dory, St Pierre, or Peter's fish, refers to fish of the genus ''Zeus'', especially ''Zeus faber'', of widespread distribution. It is an edible demersal coastal marine fish with a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark ...

(''Zeus faber'')—are enjoyed in large public aquaria. These fish are caught primarily by deep-sea

trawl Trawling is an industrial method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch di ...

ing. Several other families have members sharing the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

'dory', some of which—i.e., those of genera ''

Capromimus ''Capromimus abbreviatus'', the capro dory, is a species of zeniontid fish, the only species in the genus ''Capromimus'', found around New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of t ...

'', ''

Cyttomimus ''Cyttomimus'' is a genus of zeniontid fishes native to the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Souther ...

'', and ''

Cyttus ''Cyttus'' is the sole genus in the family Cyttidae a family of large, showy, deep-bodied zeiform marine fish. Members of this genus are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. An extinct relative, '' Cyttoides'', is known from the Ea ...

''—were once placed within the Zeidae. The first two genera are now found within the

Zenionidae Zeniontidae is a family of large, showy, deep-bodied zeiform marine fish. Found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean, the family contains just seven species in three genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and belo ...

(or Zeniontidae), and the last genus has been given its own family,

Cyttidae ''Cyttus'' is the sole genus in the family Cyttidae a family of large, showy, deep-bodied zeiform marine fish. Members of this genus are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. An extinct relative, '' Cyttoides'', is known from the Ea ...

Description

All dories share the same roughly discoid, laterally compressed body plan. The head is large and sloping to concave in profile; the oblique mouth is also large and in '' Zenopsis'' species, it is noticeably upturned. The

jaw The jaws are a pair of opposable articulated structures at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth ...

s are massive and highly extensile. The large eyes are situated high on the head and are directed dorsolaterally. There is a perceptible hump in the back beginning just behind the eye; it is topped by a conspicuous, crest-shaped spinous

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

containing 7–10 spines which descend in height towards the posterior. In adults of some species, the dorsal spines are adorned with long, streamer-like filaments. A second, much lower dorsal fin (with 22–37 soft rays) extends down the rest of the back, in a slight retrorse direction due to the body's curvature. The caudal peduncle is thin and the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

is small and truncate (brush-shaped). The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s are thoracic, spineless, and greatly elongated; the rays are free of their membranes distally. The

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s are small, short, and rounded, inserted fairly low on the body and posterior to the pelvics. The

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

contains 1–4 spines anteriorly and 20–39 soft rays with their height, direction, origin, and terminus mirroring those of the soft dorsal fin. Along the belly are a series of spinous

scute A scute () or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "Scutum (shield), shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of Bird anatomy#Scales, birds. The ter ...

s— scales modified into hard, bony plates—forming an armoured ventral keel. Similar scutes also cover the base of the dorsal and anal fins. The opercular bones are free of any spines or serrations. The

vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...

e number 29–34, and adults possess degenerate

gill raker Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch (gill arch) and are involved with suspension feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the fleshy part of th ...

s. The body is apparently naked; if present, the scales are microscopic. Coloration in life is typically a highly lustrous silver, with younger dories covered in a number of randomly placed dark, dusky spots. These spots tend to fade with age; the largest (and oldest) specimens have only one dark spot, located roughly central on the flanks. In the

cape dory The Cape dory (also spelled Cape Dory, or known as the Cape John Dory) (''Zeus capensis'') is a species of fish of the family Zeidae. It occurs on the coast of Namibia, South Africa, and Mozambique in South Atlantic and Western Indian Oceans. I ...

(''Zeus capensis'') this spot is located just below the junction of the spinous and soft dorsal fins; in the John dory the spot is central and surrounded by a yellow ring, with the body also covered in cloud-like splotches of muddy sepia. ''Zeus capensis'' and ''Z. faber'' are tied as the largest dory species at a maximum 90 centimetres total length, with the other three species only slightly smaller.

Life history

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

fish, dories are typically found close to or directly over the sea bottom, but occasionally in midwater as well. Depths frequented are moderate, ca. 50–800 metres; muddy substrates are preferred, usually over the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

and

slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a Line (mathematics), line is a number that describes the direction (geometry), direction of the line on a plane (geometry), plane. Often denoted by the letter ''m'', slope is calculated as the ratio of t ...

, near the coast. Some, such as the silvery John dory (''Zenopsis conchifera''), form small and loose schools; while others, such as the John dory, are generally solitary when not

spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

. Dories are poor swimmers; they propel themselves primarily via a balistiform (i.e., like the

triggerfish Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest speci ...

's) mode of locomotion, with the dorsal and anal fins undulating in unison as the main propulsive force and the pectoral fins used for stabilisation and turning. The

reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...

of the Zeidae are not well studied as a whole; all are assumed to be non-guarding, substrate scatterers; that is, a large number of tiny

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

and

sperm Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...

are released ''en masse'' and scattered over a wide area. The fertilized eggs are negatively buoyant and sink into the substrate, to which they adhere. Spawning activity appears to peak in the summer months in the John dory, and in the winter months in the mirror dory (''Zenopsis nebulosa''). In the latter species

fertilization Fertilisation or fertilization (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give ...

is reported to be internal (within the

oviduct The oviduct in vertebrates is the passageway from an ovary. In human females, this is more usually known as the fallopian tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, or will dege ...

), whereas in the former species it is external. Growth is rapid and

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans, it is related to both puberty and adulthood. ''Puberty'' is the biological process of sexual maturation, while ''adulthood'', the condition of being socially recognized ...

is reached by 3–4 years. The Zeidae are top

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s in their

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

and are noted for their marked stenophagy: juveniles feed exclusively on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

, such as

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

euphausiid Krill ''(Euphausiids)'' (: krill) are small and exclusively marine crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, found in all of the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word ', meaning "small fry of fish", which is also often a ...

mysid Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in thi ...

s, apheids, pandalids, palaemonids, and other small

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s. Conversely, adults feed almost exclusively on active schooling fish, such as pearlsides, porgies, young

carangid The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish that includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, trevallies, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the o ...

s (e.g.,

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

s), and

clupeid Clupeidae is a family of clupeiform ray-finned fishes, comprising, for instance, the herrings and sprats. Many members of the family have a body protected with shiny cycloid (very smooth and uniform) scales, a single dorsal fin, and a fusiform ...

s (e.g.,

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

s and

pilchard Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes ...

s); and other benthic fish, such as

dragonet Dragonets are small Percomorpha, percomorph marine fish of the diverse family Callionymidae (from the Greek language, Greek ''kallis'', "beautiful" and ', "name") found mainly in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific. They are Benthos, ...

gobies Gobiidae or gobies is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising over 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typically less than in length, and the fam ...

filefish The filefish (Monacanthidae) are a diverse family of tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish, which are also known as foolfish, leatherjackets, or shingles. They live in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Filefish are closely ...

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish Order (biology), suborder Pleuronectoidei, also called the Heterosomata. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around ...

, bandfish, and

sea chub The sea chubs, also known as rudderfish and pilot fish and in Hawaiian as ''enenue'' or ''nenue'', are a family, Kyphosidae, (from Greek, ''kyphos'' = hump) of fishes in the order Perciformes native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans u ...

s; and occasionally on

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s such as

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

and

cuttlefish Cuttlefish, or cuttles, are Marine (ocean), marine Mollusca, molluscs of the order (biology), suborder Sepiina. They belong to the class (biology), class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique ...

. Predators of dories include large

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

s such as the

dusky shark The dusky shark (''Carcharhinus obscurus'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, occurring in tropical and warm-temperate continental seas worldwide. A generalist apex predator, the dusky shark can be found from the coas ...

(''Carcharhinus obscurus'') and other

requiem shark Requiem sharks are sharks of the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes. They are migratory, live-bearing sharks of warm seas (sometimes of brackish or fresh water) and include such species as the bull shark, lemon shark, blac ...

s, and larger shelf- and slope-dwelling

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

, such as

merluccid hake The merlucciidae, commonly called merluccid hakes , are a family of cod-like fish, including most hakes. They are native to cold water in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and typically are found at depths greater than in subtropical, temperate, ...

References

"Some Biological Properties and Stock Estimates of Zeus faber L., 1758 (Pisces, Zeidae) in the Aegean Coasts of Turkey"
Okan Akyol, 2001. ''E.U. Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences'', Vol. 18, Issue (1-2): 39–46. . Retrieved March 9, 2005. (PDF file)
"FIGIS - FAO/SIDP Species Identification Sheet: ''Zeus faber''"
''A world overview of species of interest to fisheries.''

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

. Retrieved March 9, 2005. *''Fishes: An introduction to ichthyology''. Peter B. Moyle and Joseph J. Cech, Jr; p. 365. Printed 2004. Prentice-Hall, Inc; Upper Saddle River, NJ.

External links

* Heemstra, Phillip C
A revision of the Zeid fishes (Zeiformes: Zeidae) of South Africa. Ichthyological Bulletin J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 41
J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. {{Authority control Euteleostei families Marine fish families