lOI 



stripes across the body. It is a very common fish in False 

 Bay, and is frequently kept in the tanks of the aquarium, 

 where it thrives well. 



It has been noticed that the males are distinguished by the 

 part under the chin being whiter than in the females, a fact 

 which is pretty well established from observation of many 

 hundreds of specimens procured in the trawl. 



Vertical striping seems to be a primitive form of colouring, 

 and is very common in the Sparidae. The young of other fish 

 often have it and occasionally it appears for a time in fish 

 which are normally of a uniform colour. 



The eggs are pelagic, -Sq — -85 mm. in diameter. 



The Dageraad {Chrysophrys (pagrus) laticeps, C. & V.). 



This fish is occasionally procured in False Bay, seldom or 

 never in Table Bay, though it is abundant a few miles further 

 eastwards, and on the east coast to Natal. It is a gorgeously 

 coloured fish when adult. " Dageraad " means dawn of day, 

 or the Aurora, not Dagger -head, into which it is often trans- 

 lated or corrupted. I have elsewhere suggested that the name 

 is " Dageraad," and credited the donors with a certain amount 

 of poetic imagination, but on further consideration a derivation 

 from " dagge," a dagger, and " graat," a fish-bone, seems more 

 probable, as the fish has a dagger-like first spine in its dorsal 

 fin. In this case the name would be '' Dagge-graat," con- 

 tracted into " Dagraat." 



Young specimens were occasionally kept alive in the tanks. 

 The significance of their colouring was not apparent. 



The Rock Cod {Acanthistius sehastoides, Cast). 



The perciform fishes are not so well represented on the west 

 and south coast as on the east. They are not at all common 

 in False Bay, but one, called the " Rock Cod," is occasionally 

 got and has been kept alive. It illustrates some interesting 

 features of sea life. It has a rugged spiny head and is generally 

 of a reddish colour. It apparently relies for its safety on its 

 general resemblance to its surroundings and its power of keep- 

 ing absolutely still. In the tank, when it once takes up a 

 position, usually in a corner, it cannot be induced to budge 

 except by physical contact. No sudden movement or un- 

 expected display, which would alarm, or at least attract the 

 attention of any other fish, will betray it into the slightest 

 movement, even of the eyes. The ordinary food, dropped 

 alongside of it, apparently receives no attention. At first it was 

 difficult to know what to make of this fish, and it was tried 



[C.P. 6-'i4.] 



