CHNTRARCHOID FISHES. BLACKFISH FAMILY. 91 



CENTRARCHOID FISHES 



( Family : Ccntrarcliidcp.} 



THIS family, which is represented in America by so manv 

 species, and which includes in its numbers the famous 

 "Basses" of America, has only one representative, so far as 

 is known at present, in our waters. This is the Flag-tail 

 (Kuhlia /ff niiira'). It is very rarely seen. 



THE BLACKFISH FAMILY. 

 (Family: Kyphosidce?) 



SUCH well-known fishes as the Blackfish. (Girella tricus- 

 pidata), the Bluefish (Girella cyanea), and the Drummer 

 (Kyphosus sydneyanus) are included in this family, in addi- 

 tion to a number of others. 



The Blackfish is one of the best-known fishes of Eastern 

 Australia, particularly on the coast of New South Wale?. 

 Though its flesh is not of the delicate flavour possessed by 

 many of our fishes, still it may be truthfully stated to lie 

 one of our most important food-fishes ; as it is one of the 

 "stock" fishes of our markets, being always present in 

 greater or lesser numbers. It is also found on the coasts 

 of Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, and possibly South Aus- 

 tralia and West Australia. In Victoria, it is known a? 

 "Black Perch" or "Rock Perch," and in Tasmania as "Black 

 Bream" ; this being another instance of the necessity for the 

 adoption of uniform common names in cases where the 

 same species is found in various States. 



This Blackfish must not be confused with the so-called 

 "River Blackfish," which is a fresh-water fish, and has no 

 affinity with the one under discussion, as it is one of the 

 Blenny family. (It will be referred to later on.) 



The Blackfish is a herbivorous fish, subsisting upon 

 "sea-grass" and "sea-moss." The former it obtains upon 

 the flats in the shallow water of our coastal lakes and 



