John dory
Zeus faber
Special features
On the sides of his body, the John dory has a large, dark spot with a white border.
This has a confusing effect on his enemies, like an optical illusion.
Appearance
The John dory has an oval to round, high-backed body, which is heavily flattened laterally.
His dorsal fin has alarmingly long stinging rays.
The caudal fin, on the other hand, is crescent-shaped.
It has very large pectoral fins that lie far down the body.
Apart from the dark spot, it is yellow to olive green in color with diffuse lighter and darker lines.
The skin is covered by many small, razor-sharp scales.
Natural enemies
Sharks and larger bony fish
Dangerous/Venomous
The Herring King is neither dangerous nor venomous.
Sketch
1. Big mouth, sharp downward corners of the mouth
2. Light blue pupil
3. Dark spot with white border
4. Long spiked rays
5. Very long pectoral fin
Pro tips
The John dory swims slowly and leisurely through seagrass beds, in which he is excellently camouflaged.
Yet he is traveling alone. (No wonder he always looks so grim)
The flat body shape makes it difficult for enemies and their prey to recognize John dory when they swim above him.
He hunts for swarm fish, which he slowly approaches and then sucks them in surprisingly.
It usually stays at a depth of 15-50m, but he hides himself well from curious divers.
When you get noticed by him, he usually turns his snout towards you, which makes him much harder to see thanks to his narrow body.
But when you are lucky, he turns on his side and presents his flank with the big eyespot. It then offers a truly phenomenal observation and photo opportunity.
The younger John dory are brown, the older they get, the greener and more silver they get.
Text: Carolina Leiter, Felician Hosp, Pia Balaka
Pic: Felician Hosp
Illustration: Dive Dict
