74 NEW SOUTH WALES 



a shell against the lateral and front teeth by which it is crushed. 

 Others feed on corals or zoophytes, and some are hei-bivorous. Beautiful 

 colours prevail in this family, and some species which are the most 

 prized as food reach a weight of 50 lbs. 



This family inchides all the rock and reef fishes known as parrot-fishes. A 

 large number of species are found in our seas, but many of them are only 

 occasional visitors from the warmer regions of the north, wliere the Labridoe 

 abound. Those that are most familiar to the Sydney public are the "blue groper" 

 (Cossyjjhiis (joiddii), the "pig-fish" (Cossi/phiis unlmaculatus), the "Maori" (Coris 

 lineolatus), and the " rock whiting" {Odax semifasciatus). The first of these is a 

 large fish, and though very little ajjpreciated is exceedingly good, indeed the head 

 makes the most delicious dish one can well conceive. It is occasionally taken in 

 the seine when making a haul near rocks, but the usual way of cajoturing it is by 

 a spear, a mode of fishing which the aborigines and their half-caste descendants 

 are very expert at. Several other species of the Lahridce are said to be very good 

 for food, but they are little known.- — R.R.C. 



Cossyphus here referred to has a compressed oblong body, with scales 

 of moderate size, imbricated scales on the cheeks and opercles, basal 

 portion of vertical fins scaly, lateral line uninterrupted, teeth in jaws 

 in a single series, four canine teeth in front of each jaw, a posterior 

 canine tooth. 



The Blue Groper. 



(Plate XXXI.) 



Cossyphus ffonldii, Richardson, or the blue groper is a very large dark 

 purple fish, attaining a length of from 3 to 4 feet. It has no posterior 

 canine teeth, the scales on the cheek are not imbricate, dorsal fin scaly, 

 and the caudal truncate, 



Mr. Hill speaks of this fish as the "gruper," and says "it is popu- 

 larly called in this country the blue or black groper, no doubt from the 

 fact of these fishes groping in and out of the caverns and crevices of 

 rocks in search of crustacete. • 



"The gruper, though plentiful, is not a common market fish, neither 

 is it sought much after by professional fishermen, for various reasons, 

 among Avhich may be mentioned that it is out of their lay for their 

 general fishing grounds, as it is essentially a dweller among the caves 

 and rocks of the coast, and the rocky points within the harbour, where 

 their occupations rarely extend, and also that the gruper may not be, 

 from its coarse appearance, a favourite with the general public. 



"It is a clumsy -looking fish, with huge scales which hang on with 

 great tenacity, requiring a tomahawk to remove them, unless it is done 

 immediately after capture — even then it is a tough job. These fishes 

 grow to a large size, and attain a weight of 30 lbs. or more, either blue 

 or bronze when in the water ; when taken and dead they soon change 

 to a very dark brown or black. These fishes carefully skirt the rocks 

 at flood tide in seach of food ; on the ebb they retire at once to deep 

 water, and of a calm day may be seen at a moderate depth sporting- 

 leisurely near the vestibule of their own rocky halls. 



" The gruper is a shy fish when he sees moving objects on the shore. 

 The aboriginal when seeking this fish, armed with a couple of spears, 

 prosecutes his search with cat-like caution, and when in view is as 

 motionless as a statue, keeping, if necessary, that position for a consi- 

 derable time till a chance offers, when he darts one of the spears with 



