WATERS OF WESTERN INDIA. 



Similarly the red sea perches are called on the coast " Tambe, " or 

 *' copper fish, " which above ghat is the name of the Roho. 



The " Red Sea Salmon " of steamer's cooks is a Scioena, and so is 

 the " Canal Mullet, " sometimes caught when ships pass a night 

 in the Suez Canal. The Scicenas generally are but coarse fish, 

 compared to those mentioned above; but they grow to 5 and 6 feet 

 long. They, and many of the larger sea perches, yield isinglass, 

 which goes abroad under the name of (i cod-sounds." 



The next family, the tSquamiphmes, is much less important in 

 number and size, either of species or individuals. Several of its 

 members, however, are remarkable for their strange forms, bright 

 colours, or handsome markings, as the long-snouted Choetodons, 

 and the "Warra" (Scatophagus Argus) " spotted like the pard." 

 Most of these fishes have somewhat the shape of a pomflet, that is, 

 they are " flat-fish " on a dish ; but deep fish in the water. They 

 are, however, squarer about the shoulder, breast, and flanks than, 

 the pomflets, and much inferior in size and in flavour. 



The next family is that of the Mullidce ; or Red Mullets, which 

 should be distinguished from the grey mullets. There are no true 

 red mullets, I am sorry to say, on our coast ; so my chapter on 

 them is like that on snakes in Iceland. 



Th^y are represented here by some poor relations of the genera 

 Midloides and Upeneus, small and scarce, but brightly coloured. 

 I have not myself obtained any specimens. The next two families 

 have few important genera except Chrysophrys, of which one species, 

 C. berda, a fine perch-like fish, is the " black rock-cod " of the 

 Madras side ; and passing over a lot of fishes of " merely acade- 

 mical interest," the next family worth notice is that of the Scorpce- 

 nidce, which are about as eccentric in shape and colour as any- 

 thing in the sea. Their chief representative here is the " Kombada/' 

 or " cock-fish" (Pterois Russellii), a handsome fish, banded scarlet, 

 and black, and provided with huge fins that look as if they had been 

 "torn in a scuffle. " We have specimens in our Museum; unluckily 

 the colours are not permanent in spirits. The " Korabada" some- 

 times reaches 15 inches long, and. is certainly the showiest fish of 

 our coast. 



The Mango-fishes (Polynemidce) , famous on the Bengal side of th6 

 punkah, have little reputation here. The reason is, probably, that 

 the pick of the basket, Poiynemus paradiseus, is (l anadromous," i.e., 

 it runs up rivers to spawn ; and there are in the Konkan no rivers 



