Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 363 



japonicus is the amadai or sweet perch of Japan, an excellent 

 food-fish of a bright crimson color. 



The Pinguipedida of Chile resemble the Latilidcs, having 

 also the enlarged premaxillary tooth. The ventrals are, how- 

 ever, thickened and placed farther forward. 



The Bandfishes: Cepolidae. The small family of Cepolida, or 

 bandfishes, resemble the Latilidcs somewhat and are probably 

 related to them. The head is normally formed, the ventral fins 

 are thoracic, with a spine and five rays, but the body is drawn 

 out into a long eel-like form, the many -rayed dorsal and anal 

 fins meeting around the tail. The few species are crimson in 

 color with small scales. They are used as food, but the flesh 

 is dry and the bones are stiff and numerous. Cepola t&nia is 

 common in the Mediterranean, and Acanthocepola krusensterni 

 abounds in the bays, of southern Japan. 



The Cirrhitidse. The species of the family Cirrhitidce strongly 

 resemble the smaller Serranidcz and even Serranus itself, but 

 the lower rays of the pectoral fins are enlarged and are undi- 

 vided, as in the sea -scorpions and some sculpins. In these 

 fishes, however, the bony stay, which characterizes Scorpcenida 

 and Cottidce, is wholly absent. It is, however, considered possible 

 that this interesting family represents the point of separation 

 at which the mail-cheeked fishes become differentiated from the 

 typical perch-like forms. Goniistius zonatus, the takanohadai, 

 is a valuable food-fish of Japan, marked by black cross-bands. 

 Paracirrhites forsteri and other species of Cirrhitus and Paracir- 

 rhites are very pretty fishes of the coral reefs, abundant in the 

 markets of Honolulu, the spotted Cirrhitus marmoratus being 

 the most widely diffused of these. Only one species of this 

 family, Cirrhitus rivulatus, a large fish, green, with blue mark- 

 ings, is found in American waters. It frequents the rocky 

 shores of the west coast of Mexico. 



Allied to the Cirrhitidcz is the small family of Latridida, 

 with a long dorsal fin deeply divided, and the lower rays of 

 the pectoral similarly modified. Latris hecateia is called the 

 "trumpeter " in Australian waters. It is one of the best food- 

 fishes of Australia, reaching a weight of sixty to eighty pounds. 



Another . small family showing the same peculiar structure 

 of the pectoral fin is that of the Aplodactylidce. The species 



