THE PERCH FAMILY. 97 



coast, from about Moreton Bay in Queensland to at least 

 the Murray River in South Australia ; and is also found in 

 Tasmania. In Victoria it is particularly abundant in the 

 Gippsland Lakes, and from that, it is often known there as 

 "Gippsland Perch." 



It attains a weight of about 5 pounds, but examples 

 of that size are uncommon, the more usual size as seen in 

 the markets, varying from about 12 ounces to 2 pounds. 



It will be noticed that I have here used for this fish 

 the term "Estuary Perch." My reason for so doing, 

 is, that there is another perch, very closely allied to this, 

 which is found in the fresh-water portions of some of our 

 coastal rivers, all the year round, and even in pools removed 

 from the rivers. (It may also be found in brackish water.) 

 It is most probable that it even spawns in the fresh-water. 

 This form is to be distinguished from the Estuary Perch 

 by its more elongate body which has a fairly elliptical out- 

 line, while in the latter the profile of the back is quite gib- 

 bous or humped. These are differences which, though vary- 

 ing within slight bounds, are still quite constant. Differ- 

 ences in colour are also apparent ; what may be properlv 

 termed the "fresh-water" form, being usually more dusky 

 than the other, and possessing a large black blotch on the 

 central portion of the anal fin, the latter being comparativelv 

 indistinct in the Estuary Perch. In no previous work deal- 

 ing with our fishes has there been any mention of this 

 Perch as a distinct species ; that is why I now take such 

 pains to point out its general features. 



I have, quite recently, proposed for this fish, the title 

 of Fresh - water Perch and have described it under 

 the name of Percolates flnviatilis.* Of course other fresh- 

 water Perches of a totally different nature (and belonging 

 to other genera) are also known to us, but where these 

 exist, they are usually given some specific prefix such as 

 Sili'cr Perch, Macquarie's Perch, etc. 



The Golden Perch or "Yellow-belly": This highly- 

 important and valuable fish is abundant in all the western 



* Through unforeseen circumstances the Paper in which I have des- 

 cribed this species has not yet appeared in print ; reference to the species 

 will, however, be found in a Note communicated to the Linnean Society of 

 New South Wales in May, 1906. 



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