Salema porgy
Sarpa salpa
- Scientific name
- Sarpa salpa
- Group
- Reef fish
- Rarity
- Common
- Where to see it
- Mediterranean
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least concern
Did you know?
The salema porgy is one of the few nearly herbivorous fish in the Mediterranean, grazing on algae and seagrass. Eating it has occasionally been linked to brief hallucinations — a rare phenomenon nicknamed "the fish that gives dreams," caused by toxins in some of the algae it eats.
What defines this group — Reef fish
The bony fish that live against coral and rock: the living backdrop of almost every dive.
- A bony skeleton, scales, and a rigid gill cover closing over the gills.
- A swim bladder acts as a float: they hold their depth without swimming.
- Many change colour, pattern — sometimes even sex — over the course of their life.
Other species in this group
- Ocellaris clownfish
- Blue tang
- Red lionfish
- Spot-fin porcupinefish
- Mediterranean moray
- Clark's anemonefish