CHAPTER XIX

THE BASS AND THEIR RELATIVES

=THE Cardinal-fishes. Apogonidæ.=—The _Apogonidæ_ or cardinal-fishes are perch-like fishes, mostly of small size, with two distinct short dorsal fins. They are found in the warm seas, and many of them enter rivers, some even inhabiting hot springs. Many of the shore species are bright red in color, usually with black stripes, bands, or spots. Still others, however, are olive or silvery, and a few in deeper water are violet-black.

The species of _Apogon_ are especially numerous, and in regions where they are abundant, as in Japan, they are much valued as food. _Apogon imberbis_, the "king of the mullet," is a common red species of southern Europe. _Apogon maculatus_ is found in the West Indies. _Apogon retrosella_ is the pretty "cardenal" of the west coast of Mexico. _Apogon lineatus_, _semilineatus_ and other species abound in Japan, and many species occur about the islands of Polynesia. _Epigonus telescopium_ is a deep-sea fish of the Mediterranean and _Telescopias_ and _Synagrops_ are genera of the depths of the Pacific. _Paramia_ with strong canines is allied to _Apogon_, and similar in color and habit.

Allied to _Apogon_ are several small groups often taken as distinct families. The species of _Ambassis_ (_Ambassidæ_) are little fishes of the rivers and bays of India and Polynesia, resembling small silvery perch or bass. All these have three anal spines instead of two as in _Apogon_. Some of these enter rivers and several are recorded from hot springs. _Scombrops boops_, the mutsu of Japan, is a valued food-fish found in rather deep water. It is remarkable for its very strong teeth, although its flesh is feeble and easily torn. A still larger species in Cuba, _Scombrops oculata_, known as _Escolar chino_, resembles a barracuda. These fishes with fragile bodies and very strong teeth are placed by Gill in a separate family (_Scombropidæ_). _Acropoma japonicum_ is a neat little fish of the Japanese coast, with the vent placed farther forward than in _Apogon_. It is the type of the _Acropomidæ_, a small family of the Pacific. _Enoplosus armatus_ is an Australian fish with high back and fins, with a rather stately appearance, type of the _Enoplosidæ_. In his last catalogue of families of fishes Dr. Gill recognizes _Scombropidæ_ and _Acropomidæ_ as distinct families, but their relationships with _Apogon_ are certainly very close. Many genera allied to _Apogon_ and _Ambassis_ occur in Australian rivers. Several fossils referred to _Apogon_ (_Apogon spinosus_, etc.) occur in the Eocene of Italy and Germany.

=The Anomalopidæ.=—The family of _Anomalopidæ_ is a small group of deep-sea fishes of uncertain relationship, but perhaps remotely related to _Apogon_. _Anomalops palpebrata_ is found in Polynesia and has beneath the eye a large luminous organ unlike anything seen elsewhere among fishes.

=The Asineopidæ.=—Another family of doubtful relationship is that of _Asineopidæ_, elsewhere noticed. It is composed of extinct fresh-water fishes found in the Green River shales. In _Asineops squamifrons_ the opercles are unarmed, the teeth villiform, and the dorsal fin undivided, composed of eight or nine spines and twelve to fourteen soft rays. The anal spines, as in _Apogon_, are two only, and the scales are cycloid.

=The Robalos:[13] Oxylabracidæ.=—The family of Robalos (_Oxylabracidæ_ or _Centropomidæ_) is closely related to the _Serranidæ_, differing among other things in having the conspicuous lateral line extended on the caudal fin. These are silvery fishes with elongate bodies, large scales, a pike-like appearance, the first dorsal composed of strong spines and the second spine of the anal especially large. They are found in tropical America only, where they are highly valued as food, the flesh being like that of the striped bass, white, flaky, and of fine flavor. The common robalo, or snook, _Oxylabrax_ (or _Centropomus_) _undecimalis_, reaches a weight of fifteen to twenty pounds. It ranges north as far as Texas. In this species the lateral line is black. The smaller species, of which several are described, are known as _Robalito_ or _Constantino_.

Footnote 13:

The European zander is the type of Lacépède's genus _Centropomus_. The name _Centropomus_ has been wrongly transferred to the robalo by most authors.

=The Sea-bass: Serranidæ.=—The central family of the percoid fishes is that of the _Serranidæ_, or sea-bass. Of these about 400 species are recorded, carnivorous fishes found in all warm seas, a few ascending the fresh waters. In general, the species are characterized by the presence of twenty-four vertebræ and three anal spines, never more than three. The fresh-water species are all more or less archaic and show traits suggesting the _Oxylabracidæ_, _Percidæ_, or _Centrarchidæ_, all of which are doubtless derived from ancestors of _Serranidæ_. Among the connecting forms are the perch-like genera _Percichthys_ and _Percilia_ of the rivers of Chile. These species look much like perch, but have three anal spines, the number of vertebræ being thirty-five. _Percichthys trucha_ is the common trucha, or trout, of Chilean waters.

_Lateolabrax japonicus_, the susuki, or bass, of Japan, is one of the most valued food-fishes of the Orient, similar in quality to the robalo, which it much resembles. This genus and the East Indian _Centrogenys waigiensis_ approach _Oxylabrax_ in appearance and structure. _Niphon spinosus_, the ara of Japan, is a very large sea-bass, also of this type. Close to these bass, marine and fresh water, are the Chinese genus _Siniperca_ and the Korean genus _Coreoperca_, several species of which abound in Oriental rivers. In southern Japan is the rare _Bryttosus kawamebari_, a bass in structure, but very closely resembling the American sunfish, even to the presence of the bright-edged black ear-spot. There is reason to believe that from some such form the _Centrarchidæ_ were derived.

Other bass-like fishes occur in Egypt (_Lates_), Australia (_Percalates_, etc.), and southern Africa. _Oligorus macquariensis_ is the great cod of the Australian rivers and _Ctenolates ambiguus_ is the yellow belly, while _Percalates colonorum_ is everywhere the "perch" in Australian rivers. The most important member of these transitional types between perch and sea-bass is the striped bass, or rockfish (_Roccus lineatus_), of the Atlantic coast of the United States. This large fish, reaching in extreme cases a weight of 112 pounds, lives in shallow waters in the sea and ascends the rivers in spring to spawn. It is olivaceous in color, the sides golden silvery, with narrow black stripes. About 1880 it was introduced by the United States Fish Commission into the Sacramento, where it is now very abundant and a fish of large commercial importance. To the angler the striped bass is always "a gallant fish and a bold biter," and Genio Scott places it first among the game-fishes of America.

The white bass (_Roccus chrysops_) is very similar to it, but shorter and more compressed, reaching a smaller size. This fish is abundant in the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi as far south as Arkansas.

The yellow bass (_Morone interrupta_), a coarser and more brassy fish, replaces it farther south. It is seldom seen above Cincinnati and St. Louis. The white perch (_Morone americana_) is a little fish of the Atlantic seaboard, entering the sea, but running up all the rivers, remaining contentedly landlocked in ponds. It is one of the most characteristic fishes of the coast from Nova Scotia to Virginia. It is a good pan fish, takes the hook vigorously, and in a modest way deserves the good-will of the angler who cannot stray far into the mountains. Very close to these American bass is the bass, bars, or robalo, of southern Europe, _Dicentrarchus labrax_, a large olive-colored fish, excellent as food, living in the sea about the mouths of rivers.

=The Jewfishes.=—In the warm seas are certain bass of immense size, reaching a length of six feet or more, and being robust in form, a weight of 500 or 600 pounds. These are dusky green in color, thick-headed, rough-scaled, with low fins, voracious disposition, and sluggish movements. In almost all parts of the world these great bass are called jewfish, but no reason for this name has ever been suggested. In habit and value the species are much alike, and the jewfish of California, _Stereolepis gigas_, the prize of the Santa Catalina anglers, may be taken as the type of them all. Closely related to this is the Japanese ishinagi, _Megaperca ischinagi_, the jewfish, or stone-bass, of Japan. Another Japanese jewfish is the Abura bodzu, or "fat priest," _Ebisus sagamius_. In the West Indies, as also on the west coast of Mexico, the jewfish, or guasa, is _Promicrops itaiara_. The black grouper, _Garrupa nigrita_, is the jewfish of Florida. The European jewfish, more often called _wreckfish_, or stone-bass, is _Polyprion americanus_, and the equally large _Polyprion oxygeneios_ is found in Australia, as is also another jewfish, _Glaucosoma hebraicum_, the last belonging to the _Lutianidæ_. Largest of all these jewfishes is _Promicrops lanceolata_ of the South Pacific. This huge bass, according to Dr. Boulenger, sometimes reaches a length of twelve feet.

Related to the jewfishes are numerous smaller fishes. One of these, the Spanish-flag of Cuba, _Gonioplectrus hispanus_, is rose-colored, with golden bands like the flag of Spain itself. Other species referred to _Acanthistius_ and _Plectropoma_ have, like this, hooked spines on the lower border of the preopercle.

=The Groupers.=—In all warm seas abound species of _Epinephelus_ and related genera, known as sea-bass, groupers, or merous. They are mostly large voracious fishes with small scales, pale flesh of fair quality, and from their abundance they are of large commercial importance. To English-speaking people these fishes are usually known as grouper, a corruption of the Portuguese name garrupa. In the West Indies and about Panama there are very many species, and still others abound in the Mediterranean, in southern Japan, and throughout Polynesia and the West Indies. They have very much in common, but differ in size and color, some being bright red, some gaudily spotted with red or blue, but most of them are merely mottled green or brown. In many cases individuals living near shore are olivaceous, and those of the same species in the depths are bright crimson or scarlet. We name below a few of the most prominent species. Even a bare list of all of them would take many pages. _Cephalopholis cruentatus_, the red hind of the Florida Keys, is one of the smallest and brightest of all of them. _Cephalopholis fulvus_, the blue-spotted guativere of the Cubans, is called negro-fish, butter-fish, yellow-fish, or redfish, according to its color, which varies with the depth. It is red, yellow, or olive, with many round blue spots. _Epinephelus adscenscionis_, the rock-hind, is spotted everywhere with orange. _Epinephelus guaza_ is the merou, or giant-bass, of Europe, a large food-fish of value, rather dull in color. _Epinephelus striatus_ is the Nassau grouper, or _Cherna criolla_, common in the West Indies. _Epinephelus maculosus_ is the cabrilla of Cuba. _Epinephelus drummond-hayi_, the speckled hind, umber brown, spotted with lavender, is one of the handsomest of all the groupers. _Epinephelus morio_, the red grouper, is the commonest of all these fishes in the American markets. In Asia the species are equally numerous, _Epinephelus quernus_ of Hawaii and the red _Epinephelus fasciatus_ of Japan and southward being food-fishes of importance. _Epinephelus merra_, _Epinephelus gilberti_, and _Epinephelus tauvina_ are among the more common species of Polynesia. _Epinephelus corallicola_, a species profusely spotted, abounds in the crevices of coral reefs, while _Cepholopholis argus_ and _C. leopardus_ are showy fishes of the deeper channels. _Mycteroperca venenosa_, the yellow-finned grouper, is a large and handsome fish of the coast of Cuba, the flesh sometimes poisonous; when red in deep water it is known as the bonaci cardenal. _Mycteroperca bonaci_; the bonaci arará sells in our markets as black grouper. _Mycteroperca microlepis_ is commonest along our South Atlantic coast, not reaching the West Indies, and _Mycteroperca rubra_, which is never red, enters the Mediterranean. _Mycteroperca falcata_ is known in the markets as scamp, and _Mycteroperca venadorum_ is a giant species from the Venados Islands, near Mazatlan. _Diploprion bifasciatus_ is a handsome grouper-like fish with two black cross-bands, found in Japan and India. _Variola louti_, red, with crimson spots and a forked caudal fin, is one of the most showy fishes of the equatorial Pacific.

The small fishes called Vaca in Cuba belong to the genus _Hypoplectrus_. Their extraordinary and unexplained variations in color have been noticed on page 235, Vol. I. The common species—blue, orange, green, plain, striated, checkered, or striped—bears the name of _Hypoplectrus unicolor_. (Fig. 264).

=The Serranos.=—In all the species known as jewfish and grouper, as also in the _Oxylabracidæ_ and most _Centrarchidæ_, the maxillary bone is divided by a lengthwise suture which sets off a distinct supplemental maxillary. This bone is wanting in the remaining species of _Serranidæ_, as it is also in those forms already noticed which are familiarly known as bass. The species without the supplemental maxillary are in general smaller in size, the canines are on the sides of the jaws instead of in front, and there are none of the hinged depressible teeth which are conspicuous in the groupers. The species are abundant in the Atlantic, but scarcely any are found in Polynesia, and few in Japan or India.

_Serranus cabrilla_ is the Cabrilla of the Mediterranean, a well-known and excellent food-fish, the original type of the family of _Serranidæ_. _Serranellus scriba_ is the serran, a very pretty shore-fish of southern Europe, longer known than any other of the tribe. On the coast of southern California are also species called Cabrillas, fine, large, food-fish, bass-like in form, _Paralabrax clathratus_, and other less common species. The _Cabrillas_ and their relatives are almost all American, a few straying across to Europe. One of the most important in the number is the black sea-bass, or black will, of our Atlantic coast, _Centropristes striatus_. This is a common food-and game-fish, dusky in color, gamy, and of fine flesh. The squirrel-fishes (_Diplectrum_) and the many serranos (_Prionodes_) of the tropics, small bright-colored fishes of the rocks and reefs, must be passed with a word, as also the small _Paracentropristis_ of the Mediterranean and the fine red creole-fish of the West Indies, _Paranthias furcifer_. In one species, _Anyperodon leucogrammicus_ of Polynesia, there are no teeth on the palatines.

The barber-fish (_Anthias anthias_) of southern Europe, bright red and with the lateral line running very high, is the type of a numerous group found at the lowest fishing level in all warm seas. All the species of this group are bright red, very handsome, and excellent as food. _Hemianthias vivanus_, known only from the spewings of the red snapper (_Lutianus aya_) at Pensacola, is one of the most brilliant species, red, with golden streaks. The genus _Plesiops_ consists of small fishes almost black in color, with blue spots and other markings, abounding about the coral reefs. In this genus the lateral line is interrupted and there is some indication of affinity with the _Opisthognathidæ_.

In the soapfishes (_Rypticus_) the supplemental maxillary appears again, but in these forms the dorsal fin is reduced to two or three spines and there are none in the anal. _Rypticus saponaceus_, so called from the smooth or soapy scales, is the best known of the numerous species, which all belong to tropical America. _Grammistes_, with eight dorsal spines, is a related form in Polynesia, bright yellow, with numerous black stripes. Numerous species referred to the _Serranidæ_ occur in the Eocene and Miocene rocks. Some are related to _Epinephelus_, others to _Roccus_ and _Lates_. In the Tertiary lignite of Brazil is a species of _Percichthys_, _Percichthys antiquus_, with _Properca beaumonti_, which seem to be a primitive form of the bass, allied to _Dicentrarchus_. _Prolates heberti_ of the Cretaceous, one of the earliest of the series, has the caudal rounded and is apparently allied to _Lates_, as is also the heavily armed _Acanus regleysianus_ of the Oligocene. _Smerdis minutus_, a small fish from the Oligocene, is also related to _Lates_, which genus with _Roccus_ and _Dicentrarchus_ must represent the most primitive of existing members of this family. Of both _Smerdis_ and _Dicentrarchus_ (_Labrax_) numerous species are recorded, mostly from the Miocene of Europe.

=The Flashers: Lobotidæ.=—The small family of _Lobotidæ_, flashers, or triple-tails, closely resembles the _Serranidæ_, but there are no teeth on vomer or palatines. The three species are robust fishes, of a large size, of a dark-green color, the front part of the head very short. They reach a length of about three feet and are good food-fishes. _Lobotes surinamensis_ comes northward from the West Indies as far as Cape Cod. _Lobotes pacificus_ is found about Panama. _Lobotes erate_, common in India, was taken by the writer at Misaki, Japan.

=The Bigeyes: Priacanthidæ.=—The _Catalufas_ or bigeyes (_Priacanthidæ_) are handsome fishes of the tropics, with short, flattened bodies, rough scales, large eyes, and bright-red coloration. The mouth is very oblique, and the anal fin about as large as the dorsal. The commonest species is _Priacanthus cruentatus_, widely diffused through the Pacific and also in the West Indies. This is the noted Aweoweo of the Hawaiians, which used to come into the bays in myriads at the period of death of royalty. It is still abundant, even after Hawaiian royalty has passed away.

_Pseudopriacanthus altus_ is a short, very deep-bodied, and very rough fish, scarlet in color, occasionally taken along our coast, driven northward by the Gulf Stream. The young fishes are quite unlike the adult in appearance. Numerous other species of _Priacanthus_ occur in the Indies and Polynesia.

=The Pentacerotidæ.=—Another family with strong spines and rough scales is the group of _Pentacerotidæ_. _Histiopterus typus_, the Matodai, is found in Japan, and is remarkable for its very deep body and very high spines. Equally remarkable is the Tengudai, _Histiopterus acutirostris_, also Japanese. _Anoplus banjos_ is a third Japanese species, more common than the others, and largely taken in the Inland Sea. All these are eccentric variations from the perch-like type.

=The Snappers: Lutianidæ.=—Scarcely less numerous and varied than the sea-bass is the great family of _Lutianidæ_, known in America as snappers or pargos. In these fishes the maxillary slips along its edge into a sheath formed by the broad preorbital. In the _Serranidæ_ there is no such sheath. In the _Lutianidæ_ there is no supplemental maxillary, teeth are present on the vomer and palatines, and in the jaws there are distinct canines. These fishes of the warm seas are all carnivorous, voracious, gamy, excellent as food though seldom of fine grain, the flesh being white and not flaky. About 250 species are known, and in all warm seas they are abundant.

To the great genus _Lutianus_ most of the species belong. These are the snappers of our markets and the pargos of the Spanish-speaking fishermen. The shore species are green in color, mostly banded, spotted, or streaked. In deeper water bright-red species are found. One of these, _Lutianus aya_, the red snapper or pargo guachinango of the Gulf of Mexico, is, economically speaking, the most important of all these fishes in the United States. It is a large, rather coarse fish, bright red in color, and it is taken on long lines on rocky reefs chiefly about Pensacola and Tampa in Florida, although similar fisheries exist on the shores of Yucatan and Brazil.

A related species is the _Lutianus analis_, the mutton snapper or pargo criollo of the West Indies. This is one of the staple fishes of the Havana market, always in demand for banquets and festivals, because its flesh is never unwholesome. The mangrove snapper, or gray-snapper, _Lutianus griseus_, called in Cuba, Caballerote, is the commonest species on our coasts. The common name arises from the fact that the young hide in the mangrove bushes of Florida and Cuba, whence they sally out in pursuit of sardines and other small fishes. It is a very wary fish, to be sought with care, hence the name "lawyer," sometimes heard in Florida. The cubero (_Lutianus cyanopterus_) is a very large snapper, often rejected as unwholesome, being said to cause the disease known as ciguatera. Certain snappers in Polynesia have a similar reputation. The large red mumea, _Lutianus bohar_, is regarded as always poisonous in Samoa—the most dangerous fish of the islands. _L. leioglossus_ is also held under suspicion on Tutuila, though other fishes of this type are regarded as always safe. Other common snappers of Florida and Cuba are the dog snapper or jocu (_Lutianus jocu_), the schoolmaster or cají (_Lutianus apodus_), the black-fin snapper or sese de lo alto (_Lutianus buccanella_), the silk snapper or pargo de lo alto (_Lutianus vivanus_), the abundant lane snapper or biajaiba (_Lutianus synagris_), and the mahogany snapper or ojanco (_Lutianus mahogani_). Numerous other species occur on both coasts of tropical America, and a vastly larger assemblage is found in the East Indies, some of them ranging northward to Japan.

_Hoplopagrus guntheri_ is a large snapper of the west coast of Mexico, having very large molar teeth in its jaws besides slit-like nostrils and other notable peculiarities. From the standpoint of structure this species, with its eccentric characters—is especially interesting. The yellow-tail snapper or rabirubia (_Ocyurus chrysurus_) is a handsome and common fish of the West Indies, with long, deeply forked tail, which makes it a swifter fish than the others. Another red species is the diamond snapper or cagon de lo alto, _Rhomboplites aurorubens_. All these true snappers have the soft fins more or less scaly. In certain species that swim more freely in deep waters, these fins are naked. Among them is the Arnillo, _Apsilus dentatus_, a pretty brown fish of the West Indies, and its analogue in Hawaii, _Apsilus brighami_, red, with golden cross-bands. _Aprion virescens_, the Uku of Hawaii, is a large fish of a greenish color and elongate body, widely diffused throughout Polynesia and one of the best of food-fishes. A related species is the red voraz (_Aprion macrophthalmus_) of the West Indies.

Most beautiful of all the group are the species of _Etelis_, with the dorsal fin deeply divided and the head flattened above. These live in rather deep water about rocky reefs and are fiery red in color. Best known is the Cuban species, _Etelis oculatus_, the cachucho of the markets. Equally abundant and equally beautiful is _Etelis carbunculus_ of Polynesia, _Etelis evurus_ of Hawaii, and other species of the Pacific islands.

_Verilus sordidus_, the black escolar of Cuba, has the form of _Etelis_, but the flesh is very soft and the color violet-black, indicating its life in very deep water. Numerous small silvery snappers living near the shore along the coast of western Mexico belong to the genera called _Xenichthys_, _Xenistius_, and _Xenocys_. _Xenistius californiensis_ is the commonest of these species, _Xenocys jessiæ_, the largest in size, with black lines like a striped bass. To the genus _Dentex_ belongs a large snapper-like fish of the Mediterranean, _Dentex dentex_. Very many related species occur in the old world, the prettily colored _Nemipterus virgatus_, the _Itoyori_ of Japan being one of the best known. Another interesting fish is _Aphareus furcatus_, a handsome, swift fish of the open seas occasionally taken in Japan and the East Indies. _Glaucosoma burgeri_ is a large snapper of Japan, and a related species, _Glaucosoma hebraicum_, is one of the "jewfishes" of Australia. Numerous fossil forms referred to _Dentex_ occur in the Eocene of Monte Bolca, as also a fish called _Ctenodentex lackeniensis_ from the Eocene of Belgium.

=The Grunts: Hæmulidæ.=—The large family of _Hæmulidæ_, known in America as grunters or roncos, is represented with the snappers in all tropical seas. The common names (Spanish, _roncar_, to grunt or snore) refer to the noise made either with their large pharyngeal teeth or with the complex air-bladder. These fishes differ from the _Lutianidæ_ mainly in the feebler detention, there being no canines and no teeth on the vomer. Most of the American species belong to the genus _Hæmulon_ or red-mouth grunts, so called from the dash of scarlet at the corner of the mouth. _Hæmulon plumieri_, the common grunt, or ronco arará, is the most abundant species, known by the narrow blue stripes across the head. In the yellow grunt, ronco amarillo (_Hæmulon sciurus_), these stripes cross the whole body. In the margate-fish, or Jallao (_Hæmulon album_), the largest of the grunts, there are no stripes at all. Another common grunt is the black spotted sailor's choice, _Ronco prieto_ (_Hæmulon parra_), very abundant from Florida southward. Numerous other grunts and "Tom Tates" are found on both shores of Mexico, all the species of _Hæmulon_ being confined to America. _Anisotremus_ includes numerous deep-bodied species with smaller mouth, also all American. _Anisotremus surinamensis_, the pompon, abundant from Louisiana southward is the commonest species. _Anisotremus virginicus_, the porkfish or Catalineta, beautifully striped with black and golden, is very common in the West Indies. _Plectorhynchus_ of Polynesia and the coasts of Asia contains numerous large species closely resembling _Anisotremus_, but lacking the groove at the chin characteristic of _Anisotremus_ and _Hæmulon_. Some of these are striped or spotted with black in very gaudy fashion. _Pomadasis_, a genus equally abundant in Asia and America, contains silvery species of the sandy shores, with the body more elongate and the spines generally stronger. _Pomadasis crocro_ is the commonest West Indian species, _Pomadasis hasta_ the best known of the Asiatic forms. _Gnathodentex aurolineatus_ with golden stripes is common in Polynesia.

The pigfishes, _Orthopristis_, have the spines feebler and the anal fin more elongate. Of the many species, American and Mediterranean, _Orthopristis chrysopterus_ is most familiar, ranging northward to Long Island, and excellent as a pan fish. _Parapristipoma trilineatum_, the Isaki of Japan, is equally abundant and very similar to it. Many related species belong to the Asiatic genera, _Terapon_, _Scolopsis_, _Cæsio_, etc., sometimes placed in a distinct family as _Teraponidæ_. _Terapon servus_ enters the streams of Polynesia, and is a very common fish of the river mouths, taken in Samoa by the boys. _Terapon theraps_ is found throughout the East Indies. _Terapon richardsoni_ is the Australian silver perch. _Cæsio_ contains numerous small species, elongate and brightly colored, largely blue and golden. _Scolopsis_, having a spine on the preorbital, contains numerous species in the East Indies and Polynesia. These are often handsomely colored. Among them is the taiva, _Scolopsis trilineatus_ of Samoa, gray with white streaks and markings of delicate pattern. A fossil species in the Italian Eocene related to _Pomadasis_ is _Pomadasis furcatus_. Another, perhaps allied to _Terapon_, is called _Pelates quindecimalis_.

=The Porgies: Sparidæ.=—The great family of _Sparidæ_ or porgies is also closely related to the _Hæmulidæ_. The most tangible difference rests in the teeth, which are stronger, and some of those along the side of the jaw are transformed into large blunt molars, fitted for grinding small crabs and shells. The name porgy, in Spanish pargo, comes from the Latin _Pagrus_ and Greek πάγρος, the name from time immemorial of the red porgy of the Mediterranean, _Pagrus pagrus_. In this species the front teeth are canine-like, the side teeth molar. It is a fine food-fish, very handsome, being crimson with blue spots, and in the Mediterranean it is much esteemed. It also breeds sparingly on our south Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Very similar to the porgy is the famous red tai or akadai of Japan (_Pagrus major_), a fish so highly esteemed as to be, with the rising sun and the chrysanthemum, a sort of national emblem. In all prints and images the fish-god Ebisu (Fig. 280), beloved of the Japanese people, appears with a red tai under his arm. This species, everywhere abundant, is crimson in color, and the flesh is always tender and excellent. A similar species is the well-known and abundant "schnapper" of Australia, _Pagrus unicolor_. Another but smaller tai or porgy, crimson, sprinkled with blue spots, _Pagrus cardinalis_, occurs in Japan in great abundance, as also two species similar in character but without red, known as _Kurodai_ or black tai. These are _Sparus latus_ and _Sparus berda_. The gilt-head of the Mediterranean, _Sparus aurata_, is very similar to these Japanese species. _Sparus sarba_ in Australia is the tarwhine, and _Sparus australis_ the black bream. The numerous species of _Pagellus_ abound in the Mediterranean. These are smaller in size than the species of _Pagrus_, red in color and with feebler teeth. _Monotaxis grandoculis_, known as the "mu," is a widely diffused and valuable food-fish of the Pacific islands, greenish in color, with pale cross-bands. Very closely related is also the American scup or fair maid (_Stenotomus chrysops_), one of our commonest pan fishes. In this genus and in _Calamus_ the second interhæmal spine is very greatly enlarged, its concave end formed like a quill-pen and including the posterior end of the large air-bladder. This arrangement presumably assists in hearing. Of the penfishes, or pez de pluma, numerous species abound in tropical America, where they are valued as food. Of these the bajonado or jolt-head porgy (_Calamus bajonado_) is largest, most common and dullest in color. _Calamus calamus_ is the saucer-eye porgy, and _Calamus proridens_, the little-head porgy. _Calamus leucosteus_ is called white-bone porgy, and the small _Calamus arctifrons_ the grass-porgy.

The Chopa spina, or pinfish, _Lagodon rhomboides_, is a little porgy with notched incisors, exceedingly common on our South Atlantic coast.

In some of the porgies the front teeth instead of being canine-like are compressed and truncate, almost exactly like human incisors. These species are known as sheepshead, or sargos.

_Diplodus sargus_ and _Diplodus annularis_ are common sargos of the Mediterranean, silvery, with a black blotch on the back of the tail. _Diplodus argenteus_ of the West Indies and _Diplodus holbrooki_ of the Carolina coast are very close to these.

The sheepshead, _Archosargus probatocephalus_, is much the most valuable fish of this group. The broad body is crossed by about seven black cross-bands. It is common from Cape Cod to Texas in sandy bays, reaching rarely a weight of fifteen pounds. Its flesh is most excellent, rich and tender. The sheepshead is a quiet bottom-fish, but takes the hook readily and with some spirit. Close to the sheepshead is a smaller species known as Salema (_Archosargus unimaculatus_), with blue and golden stripes and a black spot at the shoulder. It abounds in the West Indies.

On the coast of Japan and throughout Polynesia are numerous species of _Lethrinus_ and related genera, formed and colored like snappers, but with molar teeth and the cheek without scales. A common species in Japan is _Lethrinus richardsoni_.

Fossil species of _Diplodus_, _Sparus_, _Pagrus_, and _Pagellus_ occur in the Italian Eocene, as also certain extinct genera, _Sparnodus_ and _Trigonodon_, of similar type. _Sparnodus macrophthalmus_ is abundant in the Eocene of Monte Bolca.

=The Picarels: Mænidæ.=—The _Mænidæ_, or _Picarels_, are elongate, gracefully formed fishes, remarkable for the extreme protractility of the upper jaw. _Spicara smaris_ and several other small species are found in the Mediterranean. _Emmelichthys_ contains species of larger size occurring in the West Indies and various parts of the Pacific, chiefly red and very graceful in form and color. _Emmelichthys vittatus_, the boga, is occasionally taken in Cuba, _Erythrichthys schlegeli_ is found in Japan and Hawaii.

=The Mojarras: Gerridæ.=—The _Gerridæ_, or _Mojarras_, have the mouth equally protractile, but the form of the body is different, being broad, compressed, and covered with large silvery scales. In some species the dorsal spines and the third anal spine are very strong, and in some the second interhæmal is quill-shaped, including the end of the air-bladder, as in _Calamus_. Most of the species, including all the peculiar ones, are American. The smallest, _Eucinostomus_, have the quill-shaped interhæmal and the dorsal and anal spines are very weak. The commonest species is the silver jenny, or mojarra de Ley, _Eucinostomus gula_, which ranges from Cape Cod to Rio Janeiro, in the surf along sandy shores. Equally common is _Eucinostomus californiensis_ of the Pacific Coast of Mexico, while _Eucinostomus harengulus_ of the West Indies is also very abundant. _Ulæma lefroyi_ has but two anal spines and the interhæmal very small. It is common through the West Indies. _Xystæma_, with the interhæmal spear-shaped and normally formed, is found in Asia and Polynesia more abundantly than in America, although one species, _Xystæma cinereum_, the broad shad, or Mojarra blanca, is common on both shores of tropical America. _Xystæma gigas_ is found in Polynesia, _X. oyena_ in Japan, and _X. filamentosum_ in Formosa and India. _Xystæma massalongoi_ is also fossil in the Miocene of Austria. The species of _Gerres_ have very strong dorsal and anal spines and the back much elevated. _Gerres plumieri_, the striped mojarra, _Gerres brasiliensis_, the patao, _Gerres olisthostomus_, the Irish pampano, and _Gerres rhombeus_ are some of the numerous species found on the Florida coast and in the West Indies. The family of _Leiognathidæ_, already noticed (page 287), should stand next to the _Gerridæ_.

=The Rudder-fishes: Kyphosidæ.=—The _Kyphosidæ_, called rudder-fishes, have no molars, the front of the jaws being occupied by incisors, which are often serrated, loosely attached, and movable. The numerous species are found in the warm seas and are chiefly herbivorous.

_Boops boops_ and _Boops salpa_, known as boga and salpa, are elongate fishes common in the Mediterranean. Other Mediterranean forms are _Spondyliosoma cantharus_, _Oblata melanura_, etc. _Girella nigricans_ is the greenfish of California, everywhere abundant about rocks to the south of San Francisco, and of considerable value as food. Almost exactly like it is the Mejinadai (_Girella punctata_) of Japan. The best-known members of this group belong to the genus _Kyphosus_. _Kyphosus sectatrix_ is the rudder-fish, or Chopa blanca, common in the West Indies and following ships to the northward even as far as Cape Cod, once even taken at Palermo. It is supposed that it is enticed by the waste thrown overboard. _Kyphosus elegans_ is found on the west coast of Mexico, _Kyphosus tahmel_ in the East Indies and Polynesia, and numerous other species occur in tropical America and along the coasts of southern Asia. _Sectator ocyurus_ is a more elongate form of rudder-fish, striped with bright blue and yellow, found in the Pacific. _Medialuna californiensis_ is the half-moon fish, or medialuna, of southern California, an excellent food-fish frequently taken on rocky shores. Numerous related species occur in the Indian seas.

Fossil fragments in Europe have been referred to _Boops_, _Spondyliosoma_, and other genera.