GRAY GURNARD. 253 



13. SURMULLET TRIBE. 



Surmullets are in great request as food. There are six 

 known species, of which two only are found on the British 

 coasts. 



Red Surmullet. By the ancient Greeks and Romans 

 these fish were in such esteem, as to be admitted only to 

 the tables of the rich and the luxurious. Most of the 

 Roman writers speak of them in terms of praise, on 

 account of their excellent flavour. From what Juvenal 

 has stated, we may judge of the high price for which they 

 were sold, he having given for one of them its weight in 

 silver. And Suetonius assures us, that one of the Roman 

 emperors purchased three Surmullets for a sum equal to 

 more than ,240 of our money. The head and the liver 

 were the parts chiefly admired. The Surmullet is a 

 voracious fish, devouring, indiscriminately, almost every 

 kind of animal or animal substance which comes in its 

 way. It is sometimes caught off the coasts of Scotland 

 and the west of England. 



The length of this fish is generally about eight or nine 

 inches. The head is large and broad, having 'two beards 

 near the end of the lower jaw. The body is thick on 

 the fore part, and is covered with large scales. The 

 back and sides are red, the belly silvery, and the fins 

 yellow. 



14. GURNARD TRIBE. 



There are about fourteen species of Gurnards, five of 

 which are inhabitants of the shores of this country. 



Gray Gurnard. Formed with a large and bony head, 



