PORGY

any of about 100 species of marine fishes of the family Sparidae (order Perciformes). Porgies, sometimes called sea breams, are typically high-backed, snapper- or grunt-like fishes. They have a single dorsal fin, and their small mouths, equipped with strong teeth, can handle a diet of fishes and hard-shelled invertebrates. Porgies are generally shallow-water fishes and are found throughout tropical and temperate waters. Most do not exceed a size of about 30 cm (1 foot), but some may grow to four times that length. The family is represented by a number of food and game fishes. South Africa, with an exceptional variety of species, is the home of the musselcrackers-popular sport fishes growing as heavy as 45 kg (100 pounds). In Australia, several important food species are known as snappers and belong to the genus Chrysophrys; in Japan, a related species, the red tai (C. major), is another important food fish. In Europe there are several valuable species, such as the red sea bream (Pagellus centrodontus), a reddish or golden-silvery fish of rather deep waters. And in the western Atlantic, there are such species as the scup, or northern porgy (Stenotomus chrysops), a small fish, brownish above and silvery below, and the sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), a black-banded, grayish fish growing to about 75 cm and 9 kg, both valued for food and sport.