Sharpsnout seabream

Diplodus puntazzo

Occurring in

Mediterranean
North Atlantic

1-150m

DayActive

not endangered

Spitz bream has rightly earned its name; its pointed, beak-like snout is really very easy to see. The head of other sea breams is usually bent downwards. Although the stripes on her body are sometimes better and sometimes harder to recognize, and you could therefore easily confuse her with other breams, her pointed snout always makes it easy to identify.

Risk of confusion

Black seabream Gestreifte Brassen, die sich im Mittelmeer zum Verwechseln ähnlich sehen.

Gilthead seabream Gestreifte Brassen, die sich im Mittelmeer zum Verwechseln ähnlich sehen.

Sarlema Gestreifte Brassen, die sich im Mittelmeer zum Verwechseln ähnlich sehen.

Striped bream Gestreifte Brassen, die sich im Mittelmeer zum Verwechseln ähnlich sehen.

Habitat

Special features

Spitz bream has rightly earned its name; its pointed, beak-like snout is really very easy to see.

The head of other sea breams is usually bent downwards.

Although the stripes on her body are sometimes better and sometimes harder to recognize, and you could therefore easily confuse her with other breams, her pointed snout always makes it easy to identify.

divedict_foto_biolexicon_fish_mediterranean_brasse_diplodus_puntazzo_pointed bream

Appearance

The laterally flattened, oval body is gray with 8 - 11 vertical stripes, similar to a zebra.

These stripes can be paler and sometimes more colored.

Spitz bream has large, shiny silvery scales. The tail stem has a wide, black ring.

Spitz bream can be up to 60 cm long, but is on average about 30 cm tall.

Natural enemies

Groupers, sea eels, squids and cuttlefish

Dangerous/Venomous

Spitz bream is neither dangerous nor poisonous.

Sketch

Diplodus_puntazzo_DiveDict

1. Pointed snout, teeth pointed at an angle

2. Black spot

Pro tips

At nighttime, you can see Sharpsnout seabreams sleeping, stretching out their fins to make themselves look more unappetizing to predators.

You can see them eating at any time of day. They collect seaweed, worms and mollusks with their pointed mouth.

They live in groups along coasts on rocky and sandy soils;young animals are more likely to be found in brackish water and sheltered in tidal lagoons.

Sharpsnout seabreams live first as males and later in their lives as females. This is possible because they have both sex organs, but the female ones only develop later, while the males then atrophy.
They reproduce between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.

Seabream diplodus_puntazzo_divedict_biolexicon_bio_lexicon_diving_diving_mediterranean

Seabream diplodus_puntazzo_divedict_biolexicon_bio_lexicon_diving_diving_mediterranean3

divedict_foto_pictures_biolexicon_fishe_mediterranean_brasse_diplodus_puntazzo_pointed bream

Text: Carolina Leiter, Felician Hosp, Pia Balaka

Pic: Felician Hosp

Illustration: Dive Dict