Atlantic Spadefish

Photo: Marcio Santos Ferreira · CC BY-NC

Enormous bait balls of Atlantic spadefish orbit the upper crowns of the tallest chapeirão formations at Timbebas, their disc-shaped silvery bodies catching the light in synchronized, hypnotic rotations. These aggregations can number in the thousands during peak conditions and attract larger predators including barracuda and jacks that hunt the periphery of the school. The species is a reliable indicator of healthy, structurally complex reef at Abrolhos.