The littlehead porgy (Calamus proridens) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the familySparidae, the seabreams and porgies. It is only found in the western portion of the tropicalAtlantic Ocean, where they are often caught and used as food.[2][3]
The littlehead porgy has the specific nameproridens which is combination of prora, meaning prow" and dens, which means "teeth". This is an allusion to the large canine-like teeth on either side of the upper jaw in adults, these are diagonally pointing downwards and outwards.[7]
While maturing, Littlehead porgies usually reach between 17 and 22 cm in length. Fully grown adults are commonly 37 cm,[3] although they have been recorded to grow up to 46 cm.[8] When compared to other members of their genus, they can be distinguished by having small scales, and relatively deep bodies with steep profiles.[9] The molar-like teeth, that all porgies have, are more similar to canines in this species.[9] Littlehead porgies are generally silver in color, with violet spots on their scales that form stripes on their upper bodies.[9] These stripes are then crossed by darker bars of color.[9] The Littlehead porgy has been described as one of the most brightly colored members of the porgy family, which contains well over 100 species in 37 genera.[10]
^Ackerman Bill. Handbook of Fishes of the Atlantic Seaboard. 1951 Washington DC. American Publishing Company. p. 58
^ abRandall, J.E. and R. Vergara R. 1978 Sparidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). FAO, Rome. Vol. 5. pag.var. fao.org
^Anonymous 1999 Fish collection database of the Natural History Museum, London (formerly British Museum of Natural History (BMNH)). Natural History Museum, London (formerly British Museum of Natural History (BMNH)).
^Vaught Shaffer, R. and E.L. Nakamura 1989 Synopsis of biological data on the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Pisces: Rachycentridae). NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 82, FAO Fisheries Synopsis 153.
^Riede, K. 2004 Global register of migratory species - from global to regional scales. Final Report of the R&D-Projekt 808 05 081. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn, Germany. p. 329