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John Dory
Zeus faber Linnaeus, 1758
A John Dory at a depth of 34m, "Forster Pinnacles", off Forster, New South Wales, September 2002. View larger image.
The John Dory has a highly compressed head and body. It has a large oblique mouth and bucklers (glossary) on the second dorsal and anal fin bases (view an x-ray image).
This species is dark brown as juveniles and silvery as adults. There is a large dark grey blotch ringed with white on the side of the body.
The John Dory grows to 66cm in length.
It is a highly regarded table fish and fetches high market prices.
This species is known from temperate marine waters of the Eastern Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific.
In Australia it occurs in depths of 1m to 150m from southern Queensland, around the south of the country and north to the central coast of Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
One of the common names for this species is the St Peter's fish. This name refers to the "thumbprint" on the side of the fish supposedly left by St Peter when he caught the fish. In its mouth was a coin to pay the temple tax collectors (Matthew xvii, 24-27).
Further reading
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Bray, D.J. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Whitley, G.P. 1966. Marine Fishes of Australia. Vol. 1. Jackaranda Press. Pp. 142.
