The blotched picarel is a member of the family Sparidae. It is a hermaphrodite species, so that all the young under two years of age are female, while older specimens are male. The sexual dimorphism of the species is considerable, with males developing a very high body with a clear furrow behind the eyes, while females and young specimens are very slim. Its greyish body, with silvery metallic tones and characteristic black patch halfway along the lateral line, can reach a length of 25 cm and is covered with scales all over. The mouth is small, oblique and highly extendable, with matching jaws and quite thick upper lip. The teeth are particularly small and pointed on the vomer. This is a gregarious, non migratory species living in a pelagic environment near the coast, where it tends to congregate for reproductive purposes in the summer, when the male digs a small hole in the bottom where the female lays her eggs. A curious feature is the egg sac that the female carries within her, which becomes so enlarged with eggs as to deform her whole body. The blotched picarel is common throughout the Mediterranean and is fished using trawl nets or surrounding nets.