John dory
Zeus faber Linnaeus, 1758
The john dory (Zeus faber) is a bony fish in the family Zeidae, part of the order Zeiformes. It belongs to the class Teleostei and the phylum Chordata, and was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Quick facts about the john dory
Other English names for it include Dory, Girti, Doree, Keparu and Kuparu. On the IUCN Red List, its global assessment is Data Deficient (DD).
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastal, marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Data Deficient (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the john dory
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the john dory live?
Not recorded
What is the john dory?
John Dory, St Pierre, or Peter's fish are names which refers to fish of the genus Zeus, especially Zeus faber, which is a demersal coastal marine fish. This widespread species has a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark spot, and long spines on the dorsal fin. Its large eyes at the front of the head provide it with binocular vision and depth perception, which are important for predators. The John Dory's eye spot on the side of its body also confuses prey, which are scooped up in its large mouth.
From the Wikipedia article “John Dory” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Dory&oldid=1369556461), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the john dory endangered?
The john dory is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List: it has too little data for its risk to be assessed.
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Data Deficient species. What the categories mean.
How is the john dory classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderZeiformes
- familyZeidae
- genusZeus
- SpeciesZeus faber Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Zeus australis, Zeus faber mauritanicus, Zeus japonicus, Zeus japonicus, Zeus pungio, Zeuss japonicus
Other names and names in other languages (105)
- Atlantic John doryEnglish
- Atlantic John doryEnglish
- Doorkeeper's fishEnglish
- DoreeEnglish
- DoreeEnglish
- DoryEnglish
- DoryEnglish
- DoryEnglish
- European john doryEnglish
- GallocristoEnglish
- GallocristoEnglish
- GirtiEnglish
- GirtiEnglish
- GirtieEnglish
- KeparuEnglish
- KuparuEnglish
- St. Peter's fishEnglish
- St. Peter's fishEnglish
- JandorieAfrikaans
- samartínAsturian
- Yar-vorBreton
- yar-vôrBreton
- Peix gall comúCatalan
- San PetruCorsican
- pilobřich ostnitýCzech
- Pysgod Darn ArianWelsh
- pysgodyn darn arianWelsh
- SanktpetersfiskDanish
- Almindelig sanktpetersfiskDanish
- Sankt PetersfiskDanish
- PetersfischGerman
- HeringskönigGerman
- Sankt PetersfischGerman
- SonnenfischGerman
- St. PetersfischGerman
- ΧριστόψαροGreek
- ZeŭsoEsperanto
- GallSpanish
- Gall de la MarSpanish
- Gall de San PedroSpanish
- GalloSpanish
- Gallo MarinoSpanish
- Pez de San MartinSpanish
- pez de San PedroSpanish
- Pez MartinSpanish
- San MartiñoSpanish
- San PedroSpanish
- SanmartinSpanish
- MuxumartinBasque
- PietarinkalaFinnish
- JanFrench
- DoréFrench
- DoredeFrench
- doréeFrench
- Jean DoréFrench
- jean-doréFrench
- Pèis de Noste SegneFrench
- Pèis Saint-PierreFrench
- Poisson de Saint-MartinFrench
- Poule de MerFrench
- Poule de Mer D'eauFrench
- Saint PierreFrench
- Saint-PierreFrench
- Saint-Pierre DoréFrench
- Saint-Pierre du PacifiqueFrench
- San PierreFrench
- Zée ForgeronFrench
- מוריגHebrew
- מוריגן הכתםHebrew
- KovačCroatian
- pesce galloItalian
- pesce San PietroItalian
- マトウダイJapanese
- 달고기Korean
- St. PetersfiskNorwegian Bokmål
- zonnevisDutch
- Sint-PietervisDutch
- St. PeterfiskNorwegian Nynorsk
- St. PetersfiskNorwegian
- piotroszPolish
- Galo-negroPortuguese
- peixe São PedroPortuguese
- peixe-galoPortuguese
- São-pedro-do-MediterrâneoPortuguese
- Обыкновенный солнечникRussian
- Солнечник обыкновенныйRussian
- Солнечник средиземноморскийRussian
- peshku kovaçAlbanian
- SanktpersfiskSwedish
- DülgerTurkish
- dulger baligiTurkish
- Dülger balığıTurkish
- peygamber baligiTurkish
- Peygamber BalığıTurkish
- Зевс звичайнийUkrainian
- Зеус звичайнийUkrainian
- Сонцевик звичайнийUkrainian
- Сонцевик середземноморськийUkrainian
- Cá dây Nhật BảnVietnamese
- 海魴Chinese
- 日本的鯛Chinese
- 豆的鯛Chinese
- 遠東海魴Chinese
- 鏡鯧Chinese
- 馬頭鯛Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the john dory
Other species in the same genus Zeus.
CompareJohn dory vs DoryJohn dory vs Zeus childreniiJohn dory vs Zeus elevatusJohn dory vs Zeus kyrtus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the john dory?
The john dory is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Zeidae in the order Zeiformes.
What is the scientific name of the john dory?
The scientific name of the john dory is Zeus faber, in the genus Zeus.
Who named the john dory and when?
The john dory was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Is the john dory endangered?
The john dory is listed as Data Deficient (DD) in its global IUCN Red List assessment.
What other names does the john dory have?
Other English names for the john dory are Dory, Girti, Doree, Keparu and Kuparu.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). John dory (Zeus faber). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/zeus-faber
“John dory (Zeus faber).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/zeus-faber.
@misc{zeus_faber_2026,
title = {John dory (Zeus faber)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/zeus-faber},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}