3 oo AMERICAN FISHES. 



A family related to the Wrasses is that of the Demoiselles or Pomacen- 

 trtdce. 



Among the reefs of Florida two or three species of this family are abund- 

 ant. Most prominent among them is the " Sergeant Major," Glyphidodon 

 saxatilis (L.) C. &V., called in Bermuda the "Cow-pilot," from an al- 

 leged habit of being always found in the society of the " Cow-fish," or 

 Ostracion. This fish sometimes attains the length of ten inches and the 

 weight of a pound or so, but is usually of a smaller size and is not highly 

 esteemed for food. It is found throughout the tropical waters of the 

 world. 



There are several smaller species of this and of allied genera in the Gulf 

 of Mexico, and on the western side of the Isthmus of Panama and in the 

 Gulf of California. On the California coast occurs a species, Pomacentrus 

 rubicundus, conspicuous by reason of its uniformly deep crimson or orange 

 coloration, which is usually known as the "Garibaldi" among the 

 Italians. The names "Gold-fish" and " Red Perch" are also used, all 

 of them referring to its brilliant orange colorations. It reaches a weight 

 of three pounds, and a length of less than a foot. It is found about the 

 Santa Barbara Islands and southward to Lower California. It lives about 

 rocky places, and is generally abundant. Its food is chiefly crustaceans. 

 It is a food-fish of low grade, and has little economic importance. 

 Another somewhat noteworthy species is known in California, on account 

 of its dusky colors, as the "Blacksmith," Chromis punctipinnis , Cooper. 



" This fish," writes Jordan, " is known as the 'Blacksmith' from its 

 dusky colors. It reaches a weight of about two pounds. It ranges from 

 the Santa Barbara Islands southward, living about reefs of rock, and is 

 lccally abundant. It feeds on shells and Crustacea. It is considered as 

 indifferent food." 



The family Cichlida is large, and is composed chiefly of fresh-water 

 fishes occurring in the tropical parts of Africa and America. Among its 

 members is a South American species, Geopliagns surinamensis, which is 

 often mentioned by writers on the instincts of animals on account of a 

 peculiar habit of the males which carry in their mouths the eggs until they 

 are hatched, and which are even said to allow the young fish to seek refuge 

 within their jaws. We have no representatives of this family on our Atlan- 

 tic coast, though one or two species of the genus Heros occur in the 

 brackish waters of Texas. 



