John Dory

This article is about the type of fish. For the folk song of the same name, see John Dory (song).

John Dory
Temporal range: Oligocene to Present[1]
Zeus faber
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Zeiformes
Family: Zeidae
Genus: Zeus
Species:
Z. faber
Binomial name
Zeus faber

John Dory, St Pierre, or Peter's fish, refers to fish of the genus Zeus, especially Zeus faber, of widespread distribution. It is an edible demersal coastal marine fish with a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark spot, and long spines on the dorsal fin. Its large eyes at the front of the head provide it with binocular vision and depth perception, which are important for predators. The John Dory's eye spot on the side of its body also confuses prey, which are scooped up in its large mouth.[3][4]

In New Zealand, Māori know it as kuparu, and on the East Coast of the North Island, they gave some to Captain James Cook on his first voyage to New Zealand in 1769. Several casks of them were pickled.[3]

  1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 363: 1–560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  2. ^ Iwamoto, T. (2015). "Zeus faber". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T198769A42390771. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b New Zealand Coastal Fish: John Dory.
  4. ^ Bray, Dianne. "John Dory, Zeus faber". Fishes of Australia. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2014.