FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 121 



alarmed that, I think they deserted the spot ; at any rate, I have often 

 tried the place since without getting a bite. 



The fleph of this species is fine, rich and well flavored, and is highly- 

 prized, perhaps partly on account of the scarcity of the fish and 

 difficulty of taking it. To my taste it much resembles the red bass 

 when in good condition. 



JORDAN AND GILBERT'S DESCRIPTION. 



Epinephclus morio (Cuv. Gill). Red grouper, brownish, marked with ash ; 

 salmon color below soft parts of the vertical fins margined with blue ; body oval, 

 compressed above; profile oblique gently curved; mouth terminal, large, some- 

 what oblique ; maxillary reaching beyond eye ; eye about as long as snout. Head 

 2^; depths. D. XI. 17 ; A. III. 9 ; Lat, I. 106; cseca 28. Atlantic coast, 

 chiefly southward. 



