''Zeus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of fish in the family

Zeidae The Zeidae (named after the fish ''zaeus'' from Pliny the Elder) are a family of large, showy, deep-bodied zeiform marine fish—the "true dories". Found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, the family contains just six species in ...

. The name ''Zeus'' comes from the Latin '' zaeus'', from the Greek ζαίος (''zaiós'') "

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 ...

", which according to

Sven O. Kullander Sven Oscar Kullander (born 30 November 1952 in Sollefteå) is a Sweden, Swedish biologist specialised in ichthyology. He primarily researches cichlids – notably the genus ''Apistogramma'' and the ''Cichlasoma''-complex – and other tropical ...

would have no relation with the name of the king of gods in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. However, other authors dispute this, giving the fish the earlier name of ("fish of

Jove Jupiter ( or , from Proto-Italic "day, sky" + "father", thus "sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove ( nom. and gen. ), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religion and mytholog ...

"), who was equated with Zeus.

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * '' Zeus capensis''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1835 (Cape dory) * '' Zeus faber''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758 (John dory)

References

External links

* Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Zeiformes-stub