THE BREAM FAMILY. 



127 



pear and most beautiful pale-blue spots, which before were 

 quite noticeable, now become very prominent ; particularly 

 <>n the upper surface of the body. Later on in life and up 

 to a fairly-large size, this species is known to the fishermen 

 first as "Squire" and then as "School Snapper" ; while 

 beyond this stage, we get what is known as the "Old-Man 

 Snapper." At the last-mentioned stage, the fish is char- 

 acterised by a tremendous, bony protuberance at the top of 

 the head ; and, at the same time, a flabby, fleshy nose, of 

 almost human appearance is formed. At this time, the like- 

 ness of the Old Man Snapper's countenance to a human 

 face, is often most remarkable; particularly when as is so 

 often the case the nose has the bloated appearance of an 

 inebriate's. The Old Man Snapper is sometimes caught 

 of a weight of over 30 pounds. It is found on sandy bot- 

 toms in fairly-deep water, where it subsists chiefly upon 

 starfishes, sand-worms, crustaceans, etc. One would think 

 that the condition of the teeth at this stage might have 

 something to do with this change of habitat, as they are 

 then worn and often decayed. 





itf. 4H. "OLD MAN" SNAPPER (Pagrosomu-s 



It is worth mentioning that all of the large "Old-Man" 

 Snappers that I have examined have been females; there- 

 fore the term "Old Alan" appears rather out of place. The 

 same thing applies equally, as far as my experience goes, 

 in the Black Bream, Blackfish and Mullet. 



''Wollomai" is a name given by some New South \Yales 

 blacks to these old examples of the Snapper. 



