Editing Sparidae (section)

== Characteristics ==
Sparidae breams have oblong, moderately deep and compressed bodies. The head is large, with a characteristic steep dorsal slant. There are no scales on the snout but there are scales on the cheeks. The [[preoperculum]] may or may not have scales and has no spines or serrations on its margin. The [[Operculum (fish)|operculum]] is scaled and also has no spines. The mouth is slightly oblique and can be protruded a little. The upper jaw never extends back past a vertical line through the centre of the eye. There are teeth in the jaws which vary from conical or flattened but there are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. There is one [[dorsal fin]] which is supported by between 10 and 13 spines and 9 and 17 soft rays, with the ultimate ray being split into 2, and no incision separated the spines from the soft rays. The rearmost spines in the dorsal fin may be elongated or filamentous. The [[anal fin]] is supported by 3 robust spines and between 7 and 15 soft rays. The [[caudal fin]] varies from moderately deeply emarginate to forked. The [[pectoral fin]]s are typically long and pointed and the [[pelvic fin]]s are under or immediately to the rear of the bases of the pectoral fins, supported a single spine and 5 soft rays, with a scale in the [[axilla]], referred to as the axillary pelvic process. The scales are typically smooth, [[cycloid]], or slightly rough to the touch, weakly [[ctenoid]], The lateral line is single and continuous and reached the base of the caudal fin. They are very variable in colour and may be pinkish or reddish to yellowish or greyish, frequently with tints of silver or gold and dark or coloured spots, stripes or bars.<ref name = FAO>{{cite book | editor1 = Carpenter, K.E. | editor2 =  Niem, V.H. | name-list-style = and | title =FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae) | publisher = FAO Rome | year = 2001 | chapter = Sparidae | author = K.E. Carpenter | page = 2990 | url = https://www.fao.org/3/y0770e/y0770e23.pdf}}</ref> The two largest species of Sparid are the [[white steenbras]] (''Lithognathus lithognathus'') and the red steenbras (''[[Petrus rupestris]]''), both of which have a maximum published [[total length]] of {{cvt|200|cm}}, while the smallest species is the cherry seabream (''[[Polysteganus cerasinus]]'').<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase family|family=Sparidae|month=October|year=2023}}</ref>