Madeira Canary Islands Azores – Fishes Dr. Peter Wirtz

One of the most common shore fish that can form very large schools. These are often at the edge of rocky to
sandy bottom. The yellow colour of the fins can be quite distinct or rather faint. Photo Peter Wirtz.
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Breams (Sparidae)
Two-banded bream (Diplodus vulgaris)
Up to 45 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 3 – 150 m depth.
According to their feeding habits, breams can have quite different jaws, with different numbers and different
sizes of incisor-like, canine and molar teeth (i.e. jaws similar to those of mammals). In contrast, most other
fish have jaws consisting of a single type of usually conical teeth that simply differ in size. The two bream
species on this page belong to the most common shore fish species in the Eastern Atlantic (and the
Mediterranean Sea). They live in groups and reach sexual maturity at an age of two years, with a size of 15 to
20 cm. The Two-banded bream has only recently turned up at the Azores, where it is becoming more common
now. Photo Peter Wirtz
White bream (Diplodus sargus)
Up to 45 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 3 – 150 m depth.
The Eastern Atlantic subspecies Diplodus sargus cadenati differs from the Mediterranenan (and Black Sea)
subspecies Diplodus sargus sargus by having (sometimes only faint) dark bands on the body. White bream eat
plants and animals; large White bream feed on sea urchins to a large degree. They reach sexual maturity with
an age of two years and a size of about 16 cm. Photo Peter Wirtz.