814 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



BLACK MARGATE. 



our exhibits by a collection from that region. 

 Mr. Grant succeeded in obtaining and bringing 

 back alive on Julj^ 1 1 thirtj^-seven species of 

 fishes and six species of large crustaceans and 

 molluscus, besides the largs hawksbill turtle de- 

 scribed elsewhere in this Bulletin. In all 

 there were one hundred and eighty-four speci- 

 mens belonging to forty-four species, nine of 

 which had not previously been exhibited at the 

 Aquarium, besides a number of others hereto- 

 fore rare in our collections. 



The six species of fishes not heretofore exhib- 

 ited at the Aquarium are the Black Angelfish, 

 French or Black Margate, Porkfish, Ocean Tur- 

 bot or Triggerfish, Horse-eye Jack and Rock 

 Hind. 



Black Angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus). 

 This fish, known also as the Chirivita or Por- 

 tugais, is as beautiful a creature as ever wore 

 the modest colors of pearl, 

 gray and black. Each scale 

 is dark with an edging of 

 pearl and there are n o 

 bright colors, except a touch 

 of yellow on the pectoral 

 and the tips of the ventral 

 fins. The young are cross- 

 banded with white but these 

 bands soon disappear. It is 

 a common species in tropical 

 seas of America and reaches 

 a length of one and one-half 

 t o two feet. The most 

 northerly record of the spe- 

 cies is that of a specimen, 

 figured by Jordan and Ever- 

 mann, taken at Barnegat, 

 New Jersey. This speci- 



men was so far out of its 

 usual range that it was 

 probably a wanderer from 

 the Gulf Stream. Eleven 

 specimens were brouglit to 

 the Aquarium where they 

 are doing well and where 

 they make a striking ex- 

 hibit. 



Pompon : Black or French 

 I^Iargate {Anisotremus suri- 

 namensis). This member of 

 the Grunt family {Haemu- 

 lidae) is represented for the 

 first time at the Aquarium 

 by two handsome specimens. 

 Like the preceding species 

 the coloration is limited to 

 black and light gray, with 

 the black at the base of each scale, but the black 

 is especially heavy on the anterior half of the 

 body, back of the head, where it forms a broad 

 girdle. The pigment of this girdle is under 

 the control of the nervous system so that at one 

 time the black may appear very intense and the 

 next moment may almost entirely disappear. 

 The Pompon grows to a length of two to three 

 feet. It is the most widely distributed and 

 largest species of the genus and is found from 

 Florida to Brazil and also on the Pacific coast, 

 if the ichthyologists are correct in their belief 

 that the Lower California species is identical 

 with this. 



The Porkfish or Catalineta (Anisotremus 

 virginicus) is closely related to the preceding 

 species, but its coloration is so gaudy and 

 striking that if color were an important char- 

 acter they could have but little relationship. 



GRASS PORGY. 



