MASTERS OF THE WATER-BONY FISHES 231 



ROCK HIND (polka dot) : E'pinefhelus adscensionis— Color Plate 4 



Size: Averages 16 inches. Up to 18 to 20 inches. 



Weight: Averages 2 pounds. 



Distribution: West Indies north to Florida, straggling to Cape Cod. 



Identification: This is one of the profusely spotted species. Small red to 

 orange-brown spots cover the whole body, and small white spots are on the 

 fins. The ground color is olivaceous, greenish, or grayish. There are usually 

 large pale spots scattered among the reddish ones. The fins and tail are fre- 

 quently yellowish. 



Similar Species: The red hind (cabrilla mora) E-pine-phehis guttata CColor 

 Plate 4), is similar to the rock hind in having a profuse covering of reddish 

 spots. The body is usually reddish and has no lighter supplementary spots, 

 large or small. The soft dorsal, tail, and anal fins are strikingly edged with 

 black. It is a very common West Indian species found north to South Carolina. 



The speckled hind (john-paw), E'pinefhelus drmnviond-hayi, is a large fish, 

 principally of the Gulf of Mexico and ranging north to South Carolina. White 

 spots cover the entire body and most of the fins. The ground color is a rich red- 

 dish brown. This beautiful fish reaches a weight of 30 to 50 pounds. 



The snowy grouper, Epine-phelus niveatus, is a deep-bodied, especially large- 

 headed species with a lower jaw that projects even more than is normal for 

 groupers. It has a brown ground color with fairly large white spots, a little 

 smaller than the pupil of its eye, arranged in four vertical and five horizontal 

 rows. The rows are sometimes irregular. 



The spotted cabrilla (cabrilla pinta), Efinefhelus analogus is abundant 

 from Baja California to Ecuador. It is very similar to the rock hind in color 

 pattern but tends toward a reddish ground color. It reaches a weight of 15 to 

 20 pounds, the largest of the western cabrillas (Efinefhelus species). 



The flag cabrilla, Epinefhehis lahriformis, reaches 20 inches and ranges 

 south of Cape San Lucas. It is gray to brown or green and is covered with 

 white spots. 



Genera Cephalcpholis and Petrometopon. These two genera both contain 

 few species. Both are small and rather active fishes for groupers, and both 

 exhibit a wide variety of color change. They are separated from other groupers 

 by technical characters and by the fact that they have nine rays in the spiny 

 dorsal fin instead of the usual ten or eleven. The caudal fin of both is rounded, 

 and the forehead is low. 



coney: Cephalopholis fulvus— Color Plate 4 



Size: Up to about 1 foot. 



Distribution: Florida and the West Indies. 



Identification: There are several color phases. The ground color may be green, 

 yellow, cream, or red and either mottled or not. There is always a sprinkling 

 of light blue spots over the whole body. The jaws are tipped with black, and 

 there are two spots over the caudal peduncle. 



Similar Species: The Gulf coney, Cephalopholis acanthistius, is a chunky. 



