Gilthead seabream - Sparus aurata

Linnaeus, 1758 [Sparidae]

FAO official common names: Fr - Dorade royale; Es - Dorada

Taxonomic and biological features:

Distinguishing characters (Figures 1, 2, 3)
Body oval, rather deep and compressed. Head profile regularly curved. Eye small. Total gill rakers on first arch 11 to 13, 7 or 8 lower and 5 (rarely 4) to 6 upper. Dorsal fin with 11 spines and 13 to 14 soft rays. Anal with 3 spines and 11 or 12 soft rays. Cheeks scaly, preopercle scaleless. Scales along lateral line 73 to 85. Colour silvery grey; a large black blotch at origin of lateral line extending on upper margin of opercle where it is edged below by a reddish area; a golden frontal band between eyes edged by two dark areas (not well defined in young individuals); dark longitudinal lines often present on sides of body; a dark band on dorsal fin; fork and tips of caudal fin edged with black. The longevity of gilthead seabream in the wild has been reported to be about 11 years (Campillo, 1992), with a weight-length relation of Wt (g) = 0.0096 x Length (cm)3.02.