The Bass Family 115 



sunfish and catfish fry, bristling with sharp fins 

 and spines, and those of the catfish are always 

 erect, even if swallowed head first. Marine fishes 

 also swallow crabs, lobsters, prawns, besides mol- 

 lusks, sea-urchins, and other creatures that would 

 be exceedingly irritating and painful to a sensitive 

 throat. 



THE SEA-BASS 



{Centropristes striaius) 



The sea-bass is known in various localities as 

 black sea-bass, black will, black harry, hannahills, 

 humpback, and also by names belonging rightly 

 to other well-known fishes, as blackfish, bluefish, 

 and rock-bass. The name sea-bass, however, 

 is in most general use, and is the most distinctive 

 and appropriate. Linnaeus described it briefly, in 

 1758, and named it striatus, or "striped." He 

 afterward received specimens from South Caro- 

 lina, which in 1 766 he named atraria, or " black- 

 ish," but the older name must hold according to 

 the law of priority. 



It is confined to the Atlantic coast, with 

 range extending from Cape Cod to Florida, but 

 it is most abundant along the coast of New 

 Jersey. It has a robust body, its depth not quite 



