48 NEW SOUTH WALES 



a sedentary life, lying hidden in the sand or between rocks covered 

 with seaweed, watching for their prey, which chiefly consists of small 

 fishes. Their strong undivided pectoral rays aid them in burro^ving in 

 the sand and moving along the bottom. Their colour is very much the 

 same in all species, that is an irregular mottling of red, yellow, brown, 

 and black, but the pattern vaiies exceedingly in the same species, and 

 even in the same individuals. They never exceed a length of 18 

 inches, and even that size is rare. The flesh is much liked by some. 

 Wounds inflicted by their fin spines are exceedingly painful, but not 

 followed by serious consequences. (G.S.F.) 



We have four species of this genus in Port Jackson. Plate IX re- 

 presents S. cruenta, Richardson. The colour of this species is a beautiful 

 scarlet, sometimes marbled with grey ; belly, whitish ; sides, with rounded 

 dark blotches ; fins, reddish pink variegated with white ; the spinous 

 dorsal has a large black blotch covering the upper half of the posterior 

 portion, the soft dorsal is thinly spotted, and transversely marked with 

 white and red ; ventrals, pink ; pectorals, marbled with pink, white, 

 and brown. 



At Plate XIV a figure is given of Sebastes 2Jercoides, a fish of a closely 

 allied genus of the same family. It is caught at times in Port Jackson, 

 but has no local name. In Victoria it is called the Red Gui'net Perch. 



The Bull-rout. 



This is the name given by the fishermen of the Hunter River to a fish 

 belonging to the family Scorp.exid.e, known to naturalists as Centropogon 

 robusta. It is a small fish, seldom attaining 7 inches in length or 

 exceeding 5 or 6 ounces in weight. Like all the scorpion-fish it is 

 very ugly, with prominent gaunt ghost-like eyes set in large hollow 

 sockets. Its colour also is dull and dirty- looking, as like as possible to 

 the brown, gi-een, and black slimy weeds in which it hides with security. 

 There are two remarkable peculiarities about this fish. One is that it 

 emits a loud and harsh grunting noise when it is caught, so that if by 

 chance it takes a bait, the fisherman knows what he has got by the 

 noise before he brings his fish to the surface of the water. When out 

 of the water the noise of the Bull-rout is loudest, and it spreads its gills 

 and fins a little, so as to appear very formidable. Another peculiarity 

 is that that the spines about the head are venomous, and inflict most 

 painful stings. If a Bull-rout is taken (when dead of course for safety 

 sake) and held up to the light with its back towards you, a long curved 

 stout spine will be noticed on each side of the snout just above the 

 mouth. There is also a little spine on each side in front of this. Then 

 on the preoperculum there is a row of four spines, increasing in size as 

 they go backwards. Now if any of these spines chance to wound you, 

 which they may easily do, for they are as sharp as needles and very strong, 

 the pain is intense. It runs through the whole limb like fire. The 

 injured part becomes red and inflamed. But except the pain, which all 

 victims assert is very agonizing, there are no serious occurrences. There 

 is also a constant testimony that the pain usually ceases at sunset, and 

 hoAvever strange it is, the fact is confidently asserted by those who have 

 had experience. The Bull-rout is never caught, except accidentally, as 



