FISH AND FISHEUIES. 107 



was Ka-ee-va. The fish was not common, and considered too bony to be 

 good as food. The flavour is good enough, but the bones make it 

 useless. The average size is 10 to 14 inches. 



W. Australian Herring. 



G. erebi has been found (says Count Castelnaii) in Western and 

 North-western Australia, as well as in the JSTorraan and Brisbane Rivers, 

 Queensland. In the latter place it goes by the name of the sardine. 

 Mr Bostock, of Swan River, says that it is known there as the 

 " herring, " quantities being smoked with Banhsia wood or sawdust and 

 sold. It is said to be excellent eating, but not likely to become of 

 much economical importance, as its habits are not gregarious. 



The fishes of the eastern rivers ai-e of a less exclusively fresh-water 

 character than those of the western. We have the " perch " [Lates 

 colonorum), frequently found in salt water, the " mullet " [Mugil dobtda), 

 visiting the sea annually after attaining the adult state, and the same 

 has been found to be the case with the " eel " {Anguilla ausfralis). 

 The " herring " of these rivers also (Chq^ea novce-liollandup) is 

 frequently found down in salt water. These four species are in all the 

 rivers of the east coast, and are all good fish — the perch has been 

 mentioned before among the salt-water fishes ; and also the mullet, 

 the eel, and the herring. In addition to these there are in the Cox, 

 Nepean, and other tributaries of the Hawkesbury, a species of Apogo7i, 

 several species of JSIeotris, and a Centi-opogon. Further north, in the 

 Clarence and Richmond Rivers, we find an additional mullet [3hcgil 

 peiardi), an additional perch (Lates curtus), and what is very 

 remarkable, two of the fishes of the MuxTay system — the " cod " 

 (Olifforus macquariensis), which is got in some branches of the 

 Clarence, and the " cat-fish " [Cojndoglanis tandamis), abundant in 

 the Richmond. 



The Apogon. 



Apogon is a small fish of the perch ti-ibe, and belongs to a genus of 

 brilliantly coloured "coral fishes." Very few species out of nearly 100 are 

 found out of the tropics, and fewer still are fresh-water. Our species 

 (A. giintheri) is about 4 inches long, of brownish pink colour without 

 spots or bands. On each side there is also a golden tinge, and all the 

 scales are covered with minute black dots. Mr. Macleay thinks it is 

 A. novce-hollandia, Val. It occurs in Port Phillip and Tasmania, as 

 well as Port Jackson. 



The River Gobies. 



Eleotris is one of the Gobies, from which the genus difiers only in not 

 having the ventral fins coalescent. They are, for Gobies, ratlier large 

 fishes, tropical, and more fresh-water than marine. Some occur in the 

 inland waters of the African continent. Our species is E. australis, 

 Krefit, a fish of about 5 inches in length, occurring in all the eastern rivers 

 and creeks. It is of a yellowish-brown colour, covered with minute black 

 spots in five or six longitudinal lines. The tail is spotted, and the base 

 of the pectoral fins a bright yellow ; there are also some faint bands on 

 the second dorsal. The head is scaly to the obtuse snout, the lower jaw 

 prominent, and the teeth in viliform bands. 



