Sandagkr. — List of Fishes found at Mokohinou. 



129 



Eemarks. 



( a ) Found all around here in countless numbers, but does not take the 

 hook well. 



( b ) Very few are caught during October, November, and December. 

 It probably spawns about this time. The largest I have caught measured 

 4 feet 7A inches in total length. 



( c ) This excellent fish is abundant here all the year. Its ova appear 

 to me to be very irregularly developed and minute, and, so far, I am not 

 quite certain regarding its spawning time. The largest specimens I have 

 caught measure fully 15 inches, but the average fish run between 7 and 8. 

 Countless numbers might be easily taken in nets during the summer months 

 in shallow water, when it feeds upon small Crustacea, spawn, and jelly-fish 

 which float or swim at or near the surface, or it might be netted in a kind 

 of bag net as it passes through some of the narrow openings between the 

 islands, and in this way whole shoals might be secured. It often visits 

 caves which have only a few feet of water, and I have frequently seen a 

 whole shoal appear from or disappear into such places, and, taking up a 

 good position above with a rod, I have caught from fifty to sixty in a couple of 

 hours, but to do so it is necessary to use a small hook, and shell-fish or crabs 

 for bait. During the winter, when the sea is smooth, immense numbers may 

 be seen resting on rocky ledges as deep as the eye will penetrate, appearing 

 as one unbroken mass of blue. Weather permitting, it may be caught any 

 day of the year from the rocks in favourable places. 



( d ) Unlike the preceding it does not shoal, or feed at the surface, nor is 

 it, as a rule, caught in shallow water. In deep water it is abundant, and 

 may be easily caught with a hook of moderate size, baited with a bit of fish, 

 for it bites more greedily than D. violacea. The largest specimen I have 

 seen measured 14 inches in total length. I caught it during the month of 

 July, in 18 fathoms, and it contained unripe ova. This species is bluish- 

 grey on the back, and greyish-silvery, with a coppery tinge, on the sides. It 

 is a more elevated form than D. violacea, and I know of no intermediate 

 forms between the two fish, which differ in form, habit, and colour, although 

 the fins of both agree, excepting a slight difference in the shape of the 

 caudal fin. 



( e ) Only caught occasionally. 



( f ) A small species, which seems to prefer a boulder bottom. 



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