Gilthead sea bream

Marine fish with regularly ossified skeleton. Body oval and compressed. Head profile regularly curved. Eye small. Mouth low, very slightly oblique. Lips thick. Four to 6 canine-like teeth anteriorly in each jaw, followed posteriorly by blunter teeth which become progresively molar-like and are arranged in 2 to 4 rows. Dorsal fin with spines and soft rays. Anal with spines and several soft rays. Cheeks scaly, preopercle scaleless. Scales along lateral line. Colour silvery grey; a large black blotch at origin of lateral line extending on upper margin of opercle where it is edged below by a reddish area; a golden frontal band between eyes edged by two dark areas; dark longitudinal lines often present on sides of body; a dark band on dorsal fin; fork and tips of caudal fin edged with black. Maximum length: 70 cm.