MASTERS OF THE WATER-BONY FISHES 



235 



Fig. 128. Tripletail. 



fin's shape and length and the bulldoghke, underslung lower jaw. Many big-eyes 

 live in moderately deep water. 



coisiiMON BIG-EYE (glass-eye) : Priacanthtis arenatus— Color Plate 4 



Size: Averages 8 inches. Up to over a foot. 



Distrihiition: West Indies. The young straggle to Cape Cod. 



Identification: The eye, the color, and the long anal fin identify it. 



Habits: The authors have found this fish lurking deep in holes by day, only 

 occasionally appearing in the open then. It becomes active by night. Little is 

 known of its habits. 



Similar Species: The deep big-eve, Pseiidcpriacanthus alius, is an almost 

 round, shorter version of the common big-eye. It is West Indian and found 

 north to the Carolinas. 



SNAPPERS OR PARGOS: Family Lutianidae 



Second onlv to the basses in abundance, diversity, and importance in the 

 tropics are the snappers. There are 250 species of these fishes in the world, 

 many of them identified by very technical characters such as tooth pattern. 

 Snappers are carnivorous, voracious fishes which feed primarily on other fishes 

 and crustaceans at night. They contrast with groupers in that they are schooling 

 and rather wary. Under water they like to keep quite a few feet of water between 

 themselves and the swimmer. It is said of some species that if one is taken from 

 a school, the rest will become very wary and stop feeding. The head is more 

 pointed, the mouth smaller, and the body less massive than those of the groupers. 

 The pectoral fins are pointed rather than rounded as in basses. Though some 

 of them reach a very large size of 80 pounds or more, the usual maximum 

 size is 2 feet and 15 to 20 pounds. In this family and the following families of 

 perchlike fishes, the maxillary bone slips into a slot beneath the eve, making 

 the rear part of the upper lip look more slender than in the preceding perchlike 



