Porgies are in the family of Sparidae and genus of Calamus, which includes 13 different porgies. Our pretty porgy we are going to paint is a whitebone/chocolate (chip) porgy. Calamus Leucosteus is the scientific name of this pretty critter that we caught so many of that day on the Mattanza. Related to sheepsheads and other porgies, they all have similar teeth in their mouths that pick and crush the small crabs and shrimp as well as other small reef-dwelling bottom creatures. Porgies gather in schools at times and when located, they are easily caught in a large quantity, so regulations are needed to manage healthy numbers to keep them around. Whitebone porgies are very prevalent so a limit of 20 per person makes them a great target for some great eating. They are small in comparison to jolthead porgies, with a record of 23 pounds 4 ounces, whitebone porgies average 1-2 pounds and 10 to 20 inches. Sometimes the many porgies look alike as the knobbed, jolthead, and whitebone have similar shapes and markings.