MS 



AMERICAN FISHES. 



THE FLASHER. 



The "Flasher" or " Triple-tail " of New York, Lobotes surinamensis, 

 known in South Carolina as the " Black Perch," and to the fishermen of St. 

 John's River as the "Grouper," is spoken of by various authors as the 

 " Black Triple-tail," and in 1856, according to Gill, was called in New- 

 York market the " Flasher." It is remarkable on account of its extraordi- 

 narily wide range, having been found in China, the Malay Archipelago, at 

 Sunda and Molucca, in the Bay of Bengal, and in the Mediterranean 

 about Sicily, at Ceylon, in the West Indies about Cuba and Jamaica, on 

 the coast of South America, and in Surinam, whence the first specimen was 

 derived, and from which locality the species takes its scientific name, and 

 along the coast of the United States from St. John's River to Woods Holl, 

 Mass. The Triple-tail is a short, thick, heavily built fish. The dorsal 

 and anal fins project backwards towards the base of the caudal so promi- 

 nently as to give origin to the common name. When alive it is a very 

 beautiful species, silvery and grey in color, but after death it soon becomes 

 dingy — so dingy, in fact, that many of the common names are prefixed by 

 the adjective "black." I saw four specimens at Jacksonville, Fla., on 

 the 5th of April, 1S75. The largest weighed about ten pounds and 

 measured nearly two feet in length. The species is abundant about 

 Charleston, where, according to Holbrook, it appears in June and remains 

 until September. It feeds upon small fishes and mussels, and is said to 

 take the hook readily when baited with clams or with shrimps. It is 



