36 MALAYAN FISHES. 
the little fish would be hauled in until the boats were deep in the 
water and the Royal ladies exhausted. At the right season, there 
are few more delicate flavoured fish than the Kérisi and they re- 
mind one of really good Whiting, 
But they must be absolutely fresh 1 and caught on the right 
ground; if out of season or stale, Kérisi have an unpleasant 
tang about them. 
The Délah (Caesio spp.) are small but good eating, the best 
being, perhaps, C. pinjalu which is also known as Ikan merah 
china and is in no way inferior to the Ikan merah as a table 
delicacy. 
Of the genus Sparus, three species are mentioned in this book, 
one of which, the Béras-béras (S. sarba), is the Tarwhine of 
Queensland and New South Wales, where it is considered a good 
edible fish. 
It is not to be compared however, either from a sporting or 
an edible point of view, with its congener the Black Bream (N. 
australis), which has not been recorded as inhabiting Malayan 
waters. 
The Asoh-asoh (Lethrinus nebulosus) is another useful fish 
in this family. The inside of its mouth is orange coloured as is 
that of its relative the Yellow-mouthed Snapper (L. chrysostomus) 
of Australia. 
RED MULLETS. 
(MULLIDAB.) 
Members of this family are known as Red Mullets in Great 
Britain and as “ Goat-fishes” or “ Surmullets” in America. 
The British species are Mullus barbatus and M. surmuletus, 
remarkable for their beautiful pink or red colour, and much valued 
on the market, although no longer held in the high estimation for 
which they were noted by the Romans. 
Biji nangka or Lebai are the Malayan generic names of our 
local members of this family and are descriptive. The Bijf 
nangka (Jack-fruit seed) is yellow and has a filamentous process 
similar to the barbel of the Red Mullet: a Lébai is a Malay of 
exceptional pious habit, and it will be noticed that he almost in- 
variably sports a beard consisting, as a rule, of about two or three 
long hairs, and his fellow countrymen have hit off the resemblance 
to the fish, which has two long barbels dependent from the lower 
jaw. 
The Ikan lebai are remarkably beautiful fishes and their 
briliant colouring contrasts somewhat with the solemn aspect of 
the head, which is, perhaps, an additional reason for the Malay 
nickname. 
One of our local species (Upeneus tragula) is known in Aus- 
ralia as the Bar-tailed Goat-fish. 
