Salema
Sarpa salpa
Sighting evidence at Formigas Islet, São Miguel
Photo: Guido and Carrara family · CC BY
Salema school in swirling aggregations of several thousand individuals around the Formigas pinnacles, their striped silver flanks catching the light as the school shifts direction in response to passing predators. They graze on the algae that carpets the basalt boulders, forming a critical link between primary production and the larger predatory fish that follow the school. Watching a massed salema school contract then explode in panic is one of the signature moments of diving Formigas.
Evidence at this site
No confirmed records on file at this site
Salema is listed as a curated species here based on historical reports.