334 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



THE PORK-FISH 



(^Anisotremus virginicus) 



Another pan-fish of the grunt family {Hcemu- 

 lidcE) is the pork-fish, a handsome and beautifully- 

 marked species. It was named by Linnaeus, in 

 1758, from South America, though why he called 

 it virginicus, " Virginia," is not known. It is a 

 tropical fish, its range extending from the Florida 

 Keys to Brazil. It is very abundant in the vicin- 

 ity of Key West, and is seen in the markets daily. 



It has a short, compressed body, its depth be- 

 ing half of its length, with the back very much 

 elevated. Its head is short compared with its 

 height, with a very steep profile, slightly convex 

 in front and very much arched at the nape. The 

 mouth is quite small, with thick lips; the jaws 

 are armed with bands of sharp, pointed teeth, the 

 outer row enlarged. The ground color of the 

 body is pearly gray; an oblique black bar, as 

 wide as the eye, extends from the nape through 

 the eye to the angle of the mouth ; another 

 broader and jet-black vertical bar extends from 

 the front of the dorsal fin to the base of the pec- 

 toral fin; the interspace between the bars is 

 pearly gray, with yellow spots, becoming conflu- 



