MythscribeMundus
THE NATURAL & IMAGINED WORLDAn illustrated compendium
NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

gilt-head bream

Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Photo of Gilthead Seabream (undefined) uploaded from iNaturalist.

Photo of Gilthead Seabream (undefined) uploaded from iNaturalist.

(c) Julien Renoult, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

The gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata), also known as the gilthead, dourade, gilt-head seabream, European seabream or silver seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams or porgies. This fish is found in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It is a highly esteemed food fish and an important species in aquaculture.

Wikipedia contributors, Gilt-head bream; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:00:44.997480+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758
Name authority
Linnaeus, 1758
Common name
gilt-head bream
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Family
Sparidae
Genus
Sparus
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. gigaclassActinopterygii
  8. superclassActinopteri
  9. classTeleostei
  10. familySparidae Rafinesque, 1818
  11. genusSparus Linnaeus, 1758
  12. speciesSparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Sparus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Sparus heterodus Peters, 1877SparidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 124 records assigned to Sparidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Pagrus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)ambiguous synonym
Sparus auratus Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758synonym
Chrysophrys aurathus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Aurata aurata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Chrysophrys aurata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)synonym
Chrysophrys auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758)ambiguous synonym
Chrysophrys crassirostris Valenciennes, 1830 Valenciennes, 1830synonym

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.542 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4YF8Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.