Common dentex

Photo: Alessandra Boccabianca · © all rights reserved

One of the apex predatory sparids of the Mediterranean, common dentex are powerfully built, blue-grey fish that patrol the wall edges and sandy base in small groups. They are voracious hunters of fish and cephalopods and are extremely wary in fished areas; in the Tremiti reserve, where they have been protected for decades, they approach divers with characteristic boldness. Individuals over 80 cm are regularly seen on the deeper sections of the Cretaccio wall.