S P A R U S. 



701 



of pavement, and they admit of subdivision into five 

 genera. Of these, and also of the other tribes, some 

 occur more or less rarely on the British shores, and 

 some not at all. We shall confine our notice chiefly 

 to those which are found on the British shores. 

 Taking them general! v, the fishes of this family are 

 not. much esteemed for the table. 



SARGUS the Sargue. There is no English name 

 for this genus, and the fish, we believe, has not 

 occurred on the British shores. There are, however, 

 several species in the Mediterranean, and they also 

 occur on the shores of the American States, where 

 they are called sheep-heads. They have the front 

 teeth with trenchant edges, something similar to those 

 of man, but they differ in these respects, for some 

 have them divided into several points ; the cheek- 

 teeth are always in the form of a pavement ; the 

 colour is in general silvery, marked by cross bands 

 of black. 



CHRYSOPHRIS Gilt-head. The generic characters 

 are : the body compressed laterally, and deep in the 

 vertical section ; only one dorsal fin, with the rays 

 partly spinous and partly flexible ; six conical incisors 

 in each jaw, and oval teeth, like a pavement, in the 

 sides of the mouth, three rows below and four above ; 

 the cheeks and gill-covers scaly, and six gill-rays. 



The common gilt-head (C. aura(a) is the one best 

 known. It is exceedingly abundant in the Mediter- 

 ranean, and not rare on the west coast of Spain, 

 Portugal, and France. It is occasionally found on 

 the south coast of England, and strays, sometimes 

 wanders, along the west coast, and even the east. 

 They are, however, fishes of warm climates, and can- 

 not bear the cold of winter very far to the north. 

 The generic name, and its synonym gilt-head, have 

 been given on account of the bright golden yellow of 

 the space over the eyes in these fishes. 



The back is of a silvery grey, shaded with blue, 

 the belly shining steel blue, and the two colours are 

 parted by golden tinted lines on the sides ; the fins 

 and tail are bluish, the latter darker than the others ; 

 the scales stand up at each side of the dorsal and anal 

 fins so as to give them the appearance of being seated 

 in grooves ; the body is sloped at the anterior end of 

 the dorsal-fin ; the head high and short ; the eyes 

 have golden irides and black pupils ; the gold spot 

 over the eye is crescent-shaped, and there is a violet 

 spot on the upper edge of the gill-lid. This fish 

 rarely exceeds a foot in length. Shelled mollusca 

 form a principal part of its food ; and its teeth, and 

 the action of the jaws, are so powerful that it can 

 break the hardest shells mere crushing, not mastica- 

 tion, is, however, the proper function of its very 

 powerful mouth. 



There is another specios which has the teeth much 

 smaller than the one which has been noticed, the 

 C. micradon of Cuvier. It is of the same colour as 

 the common gilt-head, but smaller in size, and with 

 only two rows of teeth in the lower jaw ; the great 

 oval cheek-teeth are wanting, but still the habit of 

 the fish is nearly the same as that of those with the 

 larger and more numerous rows of teeth, namely, that 

 of a feeder upon shelled mollusca and various species 

 of sea-weed. 



PAGRUS Braise. The characters of this genus 

 are nearly the same as those of the gilt-head, only 

 the teeth are different. There are four or six strong 

 conical teeth in the front of each jaw, with two rows 

 of smaller ones behind them, and two rows of molar 



teeth in the lateral parts. Like most others of the 

 family, the fishes of this genus feed upon sea-weed 

 and crustacea and shelled mollusca. They are con- 

 sequently found in the deep water on the rocky shores 

 and not on the banks or the beaches. They come 

 to the shores in the summer and autumn, but retire 

 to the deep water in the winter and spring. Like 

 most of the family, they are impatient of cold, and 

 therefore more abundant in the low than in the high 

 latitudes. lu the Mediterranean there appear to be 

 many species ; and there is one, the common braise 

 or becker (P. vulgaris), which is not rare on some 

 of the British shores. The muzzle is blunt, as in the 

 gilt-head ; but the body is a little longer in propor- 

 tion. A small part of the dorsal and the anal fins is 

 concealed by the projecting scales at their bases. 

 This peculiar application of the scales tends much to 

 stiffen the fins at their bases, and thus enables the fish 

 to maintain its place steadily in the turbulent waters 

 in which it feeds, and where there are currents and 

 turmoil more violent and to a greater depth than 

 where the bottom is comparatively level. Silvery 

 white with a tinge of red are the general colours of 

 the braise ; and there are no metallic glosses on the 

 head, or dark spots on the gill-covers at the com- 

 mencement of the lateral lines, as in the gilt-head ; 

 the membranes of the fins are also white, with a tinge 

 of red ; and the rear of the dorsal is rather darker 

 than the rest. The pectorals have generally a tinge 

 of violet, and sometimes a red spot, near their origin. 

 The eyes of this fish are very large, with the irides of 

 a golden-yellow colour, and the gape is wide, indicat- 

 ing the voracious disposition of the fish. The autho- 

 rities indeed say that the name Pagrus is expressive of 

 this, being derived from the Greek phagon, a devourer ; 

 but there are many fishes which are much more vora- 

 cious than this one, though as its food, the seaweed 

 part of it, is not nearly so nutritious as the animal 

 subsistence of the greater number of fishes, there- 

 fore it needs an increase in the quantity. It is 

 doubtful whether all the fishes caught on the British 

 shores, and called by the local names of this one, are 

 of the same species, although there is not much doubt 

 of their belonging to the family of the Sparidce, which 

 are not very likely to be mistaken for anyother. 



PAGELLUS Sea Bream. The characters of this 

 genus are : the front teeth conical, small, and nume- 

 rous ; the laterals also small and round in their form ; 

 the first part of the dorsal with spiuous rays, and the 

 remainder with soft ones ; they are abundant in the 

 Mediterranean, and two are enumerated in the list 

 of the British fishes, one not rare on various parts of 

 the coast, and the other very much so. The one 

 which is found in abundance on some coasts is not 

 much esteemed for food when dressed by the com- 

 mon methods ; but Mr. Yarrell praises it when 

 broiled in such a manner as that the scales and skin 

 shall retain all the juice. This is a good plan with 

 all fish, and a most essential one in the case of the 

 wide ranging spinous fishes. Thus a perch, when 

 boiled or dressed in any way by which the substance 

 can be let out, is dry and tasteless, and eaten for the 

 sauce which is used with it fully as much as for the 

 fish. But after a hard morning on the hill, " first 

 catch" a perch, next set up three sticks gipsy fashion, 

 and suspend him by the tail, taking care that no'part 

 of the skin is broken, and that he is simply wiped, 

 not soaked in water ; then involve him in the flame 

 and smoke of sticks till the skin and scales form a 



