224 



UNDERWATER GUIDE TO MARINE LIFE 



around like a faithful dog. Even if not so trained, these fishes are engaging 

 and fearless fish. 



Basses are almost insatiably curious. Bright objects, like polished metal or 

 mirrors, serve to attract them very close to the swimmer. The voracity of basses 

 is almost legendary. They rush at their prey by sudden movements of the large 

 pectoral and tail fins. As the mouth opens, a suction is created, water passing 

 in the mouth and out the gills, and the prey is drawn in. The many small 

 teeth in the jaws and on the tongue and palate hold the prey, which is swallowed 

 whole. The food varies from fishes to crustaceans and other invertebrates. 

 Groupers are fond of octopuses as food. 



Some basses reach huge size, having mouths into which a man could fit 

 his head and shoulders. Their size and fearlessness could make these fellows 

 rather dangerous, although one could probably not call anv of them, with the 

 possible exception of jewfishes, naturally pugnacious if left unmolested. Most 

 basses travel singly and "home" to very definite holes in rock or coral, not 

 straying far from a single spot throughout their lives. Basses are variable in 

 almost every respect, color, size, pattern, etc., but they are best separated from 

 near relatives by the rather massive head with its very capacious, thick-lipped, 

 underslung lower jaw, the anal fin which is a little shorter than the soft dorsal. 



Fig. 119. White perch. 



Fig. 120. Striped bass. 



