320 The Bass and their Relatives 



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) un- 

 decimalis, 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. 



The Sea-bass: Serranidae. The central family of the percoid 

 fishes is that of the Serranidce, 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 vertebra and 

 three anal spines, never more than three. The fresh-water 

 species are all more or less archaic and show traits suggesting 

 the Oxylabracida, Percida, or Centrar chides, all of which are 

 doubtless derived from ancestors of Serranidce. 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 vertebrae 

 being thirty-five. Percichthys trucha is the common trucha, or 

 trout, of Chilean waters. 



Lateolabrax japon-icus, 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 Centrarchidce 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 colonomm is everywhere 



