Common pandora

Common Pandora
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Sparidae
Genus:	Pagellus
Species:	P. erythrinus
Binomial name
Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Distribution of Pagellus erythrinus

Pagellus erythrinus, or the common pandora, is a fish of the Sparidae family (sea bream). It is a popular food fish in Mediterranean countries, with delicate white flesh.

It has a slim, oval fusiform body, with a smallish mouth and scales covering its face. The eyes are smaller than those of Pagellus bogaraveo and Pagellus acarne. It is silver in colour with a pink tinge, particularly on its back. A typical specimen measures 10-30cm, but it can reach as much as 50cm in length.

The common pandora is a hermaphrodite, spending the first two years of its life as a female, and the third year as a male. It is omnivorous, but mainly feeds on smaller fish and benthic invertebrates.

Distribution

The Atlantic Ocean, from Scandinavia to Cape Verde. Also the Mediterranean and the North Sea.

References

• "Pagellus erythrinus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 1 March 2007. 
• Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2007). "Pagellus erythrinus" in FishBase. March 2007 version.