i 5 8 FISHES OF AUSTRALIA. 



hardly have been developed. It has been suggested that the 

 Pilot-Fish is even attentive enough to remove skin-parasites 

 from the Shark. 



The Pilot-Fish is of a bluish colour, with dark vertical 

 bars. It attains a length of about 2 feet. 



The Pennant-Fish is a very widely-distributed species 

 of small size. In addition to its occurrence upon various 

 portions of the Australian coastline, it is found in the Red 

 Sea, the Seas of India and the Malay Archipelago and also 

 on both coasts of tropical America, being common about 

 Florida Keys and Cuba, where it is a food-fish of some 

 importance. As it is of rather rare occurrence in the Aus- 

 tralian portion of its habitat, it is of no economic im- 

 portance. 



Fig. 57. PENNANT-FISH (Alectis cilia rim). 



This curious-looking fish, with its high, compressed, 

 somewhat "diamond-shaped" body, is chiefly remarkable for 

 the long filaments which depend from the dorsal and anal 

 fins. The dorsal filaments are often as much as four times 

 the total length of the fish itself, while those of the anal 

 fin are not much shorter; and when the Pennant-Fish is 

 swimming slowly and majestically through the water they 

 lend to it a very peculiar aspect. 



