The sea breams (Sparidae) are a family of fishes of the order Perciformes, mostly marine and very rarely of brackish or fresh waters. They are distributed in the littoral waters of the tropical and temperate seas of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Smaller species, as well as juveniles of larger species, usually form large schools. In contrast, larger species tend to be less gregarious and inhabit greater depths.
The body of sea breams is more or less oval and very compressed laterally, presenting a complete lateral line from the operculum to the caudal peduncle. They have a small and slightly protractile mouth, which is equipped with teeth, which may be molar-shaped or conical depending on the species. The operculum of sea breams is spineless and has smooth edges.
The dorsal fin of sea breams is single and continuous, usually consisting of 10-13 robust spines followed by 10-15 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 8-14 rays, and tends to be rather short in length. The pectoral fins are long and pointed. The pelvic fins, which have 1 spine and 5 rays, are inserted into the body of the fish in a plane just behind the vertical formed by the pectoral fins. The caudal fin is usually emarginate or forked.
Sea breams have an omnivorous diet, so their diet includes algae, crustaceans and molluscs, among others. They belong to the family of the sea breams, species as well known by all as breams, sheepshead, scups, red seabreams, pageles, dentex and the like. Many of the species of this family are sequential hermaphrodites with both senses, that is to say that there are species whose individuals are initially females, and later become males, and other species that occur the other way around, first they are males and later they become females. The family is composed of 37 genera in which a total of 148 species are included.