56 NEW SOUTH WALES 



Oliver states that on two occasions boats lying on the outer grounds 

 were impaled by sword-fishes and the crews only saved their lives with 

 the utmost difficulty. 



Fam. TEICHIUEID^. 



Body elongate ; compressed or ribbon-like; cleft of mouth wide ; with 

 several strong teeth in the jaws and on the palate. The spinous and 

 soft portions of the dorsal and anal of nearly equal extent, long, 

 many -rayed, sometimes terminating in finlets, caudal fin absent or forked. 



These are marine fishes of very voracious habits, inhabiting mostly 

 tropical or subtropical seas. It is either a surface fish or goes to 

 moderate depths like Berycidoe. 



The Barracouta. 



The " Barracouta" {Thyrsites atiin) is the only valuable fish of this 

 small family in Australian waters, but it is extremely rare in New 

 South Wales. It is got in abundance in Bass's Straits and the Tas- 

 manian coasts, and is sent in considerable quantity smoked and salted 

 to the Sydney fishmongers. 



This genus [Thyrsites) has the body rather elongate, without scales. 

 The first dorsal continuous, with the spines of moderate strength, and 

 extending to the second dorsal. From two to six finlets behind the 

 dorsal and anal. Several long narrow sharp teeth in the jaws ; teeth 

 on the palatine bones. The species reach a length of 4 or 5 feet, and 

 are valuable food fishes. The Barracouta, Barracuda, or Barracoota 

 (and various other ways of spelling) is found from the Cape of Good 

 Hope to New Zealand. In the latter place it is also known as 

 " Snoek," and is exported from the Colony into Mauritius and Batavia as 

 a regular article of commerce. T. yrometheus, another species, extends 

 from Madeira to Polynesia, and Dr. Giinther thinks that our T. solandri, 

 Cuv. and Val., is the same. The Tasmanian King-fish is T. microptcs, 

 Castelnau, one of the most delicious table fishes. It is much broader 

 in proportion to its length than the Barracouta, and is caught at depths 

 of 10 or 20 fathoms, off" the south coast of Tasmania, in rocky places. 

 The writer has had many a day's fishing off South Cape in Tasmania, 

 and very frequently ere the fish was drawn to the surface it was bitten 

 in half or sometimes the head only left on the hook by the numerous 

 sharks which abounded in the locality. The Schnapper on our outer 

 grounds is often brought in as a fragment, OAving to the Blue Pointer 

 Shark and other robbers. 



Tlie Barracoutas are well described as voracious fishes. They are 

 easily caught from the stern of sailing-ships in Bass's Straits with no 

 bait or only a piece of red rag. In 1857 the writer was on board a 

 pilot schooner taking emigrants to Guichen Bay, S.A. Fair weather 

 but foul winds kept us out to sea many days beyond our anticipated 

 time and food began to get very scarce. Fortunately we came across an 

 immense shoal of Barracouta, and for three days caught as many as we 

 wished with nothing but a hook and line trailing fast astern. The 

 quicker the vessel was going the better they used to seize the hook. 



