538 The Bass and their Relatives 
ranean, in southern Japan, and throughout Polynesia and 
the West Indies. They have very much in common, but differ 
in size and color, some being bright red, some gaudily spotted 
with red or blue, but most of them are merely mottled green 
or brown. In many cases individuals living near shore are 
olivaceous, and those of the same species in the depths are 
bright crimson or scarlet. We name below a few of the most 
prominent species. Even a bare list of all of them would take 
Fic. 426.—Epinephelus striatus (Bloch), Nassau Grouper: Cherna criolla. 
Family Serranide. 
many pages. Cephalopholis cruentatus, the red hind of the 
Florida Keys, is one of the smallest and brightest of all of them. 
Cephalopholis fulvus, the blue-spotted guativere of the Cubans, 
is called negro-fish, butter-fish, yellow-fish, or redfish, accord- 
ing to its color, which varies with the depth. It is red, yellow, 
or olive, with many round blue spots. Epinephelus adscen- 
scionis, the rock-hind, is spotted everywhere with orange. 
Epinephelus guaza is the merou, or giant-bass, of Europe, a 
large food-fish of value, rather dullin color. Epinephelus striatus 
is the Nassau grouper, or Cherna criolla, common in the West 
Indies. Epinephelus maculosus is the cabrilla of Cuba. Epi- 
nephelus drummond-hayi, the speckled hind, umber brown, spotted 
with lavender, is one of the handsomest of all the groupers. 
Epinephelus morio, the red grouper, is the commonest of all 
these fishes in the American markets. In Asia the species 
are equally numerous, Epinephelus quernus of Hawaii and the 
red [Epinephelus fasciatus of Japan and southward being food- 
