THE SWEEP FAMILY. 133 



CHAPTER VII. 



The Sweep Family The Coral-Fishes The Surgeon-Fishes The 

 "Black Trevally " Family The Pomacentrids The Parrot-Fishes or 

 Wrasses. 



THE SWEEP FAMILY. 



(Family: Scorpididce.} 



THE Australian representatives of this family of fishes 

 are not of much importance as food fishes, but amongst their 

 number are several very interesting forms. I will here just 

 briefly speak of three species: the Sweep (Scorpis a-qui- 

 pinnis), the Mado (Atyplchthys strigatus) and the Batfish 

 (Monodactylus argenteus). The most important of these is 

 the Sweep This species is very abundant along the coast 

 of New South Wales, and is a very familiar fish to most 

 waterside folk. In localities like Port Jackson the young, 

 up to about 6 inches in length, are exceedingly abundant 

 around the rocky parts of the lower portions of the harbour, 

 where they, in company with their relation, the Mado simply 

 swarm. In his boyhood days, the writer has captured hun- 

 dreds of both of these fishes in localities such as those men- 

 tioned. No special skill is required, as the little fishes 

 both species are very ravenous after anything in the shape 

 of animal food. The adults (of the Sweep) are usually 

 found on the outside grounds ; but are not verv often taken, 

 probably not because they are any less hungry than they were 

 in the days of childhood, but because the baits and hooks 

 used either for Snapper or Nannygai are usually too large 

 for their comparatively small mouths. 



The Sweep is fairly good for table purposes, and attains 

 a length of 12 or 13 inches. 



In colour, it is of a uniform bluish tint on the sides, 

 being a little darker above and a little lighter below. 



In addition to its occurrence in New South Wales waters 

 it will probably be found to be fairly abundant in Victoria, 

 and it is known to occur in West Australia. 



