John Dory

The John Dory is unmistakable: a laterally compressed, silvery body with a large dark spot ringed in yellow on each flank—a false eye thought to confuse prey. It grows to around 90 cm and hunts small fish using a highly specialized suction-feeding technique, pivoting its flattened body to approach prey head-on, minimizing its visual profile. Found on rocky and sandy bottoms from shallow coastal waters to depths beyond 100 m, this odd-looking fish is distributed across the eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and beyond.