John Dory

John Dory Fossil range: Oligocene to Present[1]
Zeus faber
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Zeiformes Family: Zeidae Genus: Zeus Species: Z. faber
Binomial name
Zeus faber Linnaeus, 1758

John Dory, also known as St Pierre, refers to fish of the genus Zeus, especially Zeus faber, of widespread distribution. It is an edible deep-sea fish with a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark spot, and long spines on the dorsal fin. The dark spot is used to flash an 'evil eye' if danger approaches the John Dory.

Name

Various explanations are given of the origin of the name. It may be an arbitrary or jocular variation of dory (itself from the French dorée, gilded), or perhaps an allusion to John Dory, the hero of an old ballad. Others suggest that "John" derives from the French jaune, yellow. The novel An Antarctic Mystery by Jules Verne gives another account, which has some popularity but is probably fanciful: "The legendary etymology of this piscatorial designation is Janitore, the "door-keeper," in allusion to St. Peter, who brought a fish said to be of that species, to our Lord at His command." (St. Peter is said to be keeper of the gates of Heaven.) A related legend says that the dark spot on the fish's flank is St. Peter's thumbprint.

Morphology

John Dory.Drawing by William MacGillivray.

The John Dory grows to a maximum size of 65 cm (2 ft) and 3 kg (7 lb) in weight. It has 10 long spines on its dorsal fin and 4 spines on its anal fin. It has microscopic, sharp scales that run around the body. The fish is an olive green color with a silvery white belly and has a dark spot on its side. Its eyes are near the top of its head. It has a flat, round body shape and is a poor swimmer.

Prey and predators

The John Dory usually gets its food by stalking it then shooting out a tube in its mouth to capture its prey. The John Dory eats a variety of fish, especially schooling fish, such as sardines. Occasionally they eat squid and cuttlefish.

Their predators are sharks, like the dusky shark, and other large bony fish.

Habitat

John Dory are found on the coast of South West Africa, South East Asia and Australia, the coasts of Japan, and on the coasts of Europe. They live near the seabed, living in depths from 5 meters (15 ft) to 360 meters (1200 ft). They are normally solitary.

Reproduction and lifespan

After they are 3 or 4 years of age they are usually ready to reproduce. This happens around the end of winter. They are substrate scatterers, which means that they release sperm and eggs into the water to fertilize. Typical lifespan is about 12 years in the wild.

References

Wikispecies has information related to: Zeus faber

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Dory.

1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560. http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class. Retrieved 2007-12-25. 

• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.
• Zeus faber (TSN 166287). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 30 January 2006.
• "Zeus faber". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. 10 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.