184 Prof. M‘Coy on the Recent Zoology 
small lamprey is not uncommon in the Murray, and another 
‘(Mordacia) in the Saltwater River. 
Of bony fish there are numerous genera and species ; of these 
I need only now advert to a few used for food or otherwise in- 
teresting. Of the Percide one of the very best table fish is the 
Lates colonorum, or “Gippsland perch,” which has appeared of 
late years in the market. Also of this family is our most 
gigantic river-fish, the “ Murray cod-perch”’ (Oligorus macqua- 
riensis), which is often three feet long and upwards of twenty 
pounds weight; it is perhaps the most commonly seen at table 
of all the Victorian fish, although not at all the best; it is now 
brought to the Melbourne markets in great numbers by the 
railway. The next example is the most abundant and cheapest 
of the marine fish, never seen at the best tables, but used very 
extensively as food by the poorer people. It has the reputation 
of very frequently causing, even when perfectly fresh, the most 
violent symptoms of fish-poisoning, accompanied by a peculiar 
redness of the face and great suffering, sometimes ending in 
death—although so irregular in its action that other persons 
eating of the same fish have experienced no ill effects. It is the 
Arripis georgianus, and is called by the fishermen “salmon” 
when old and of a uniform olive tint, and “salmon trout” in 
the younger spotted stage of growth. I have no doubt the 
Centropristis georgianus (C. & V.), C. salar (Rich.), C. truttaceus 
(C. & V.), and Perca marginata (C. & V.) are all synonyms 
of this one common species. An excellent river-fish of this 
family is the Dules ambiguus of the Murray; it is popularly 
known as the “ Murray golden perch,” or sometimes “ Murray 
golden carp,” and far exceeds in general estimation any of the 
other freshwater fish for the table. Of the Pristipomatide the 
Murray River affords an excellent table fish, the Therapon ellip- 
ticus, known in the market and to the colonists generally as the 
“ Murray silver perch,” and it is now brought to Melbourne in 
great numbers by railway. 
Amongst the mullets (Mullide) we have a representative of 
the European red mullet, forming an equally delicious delicacy 
when cooked in the same way ; it is the Australian red mullet, 
the Upeneichthys porosus, which, like its home representative, 
is only occasionally found, and must be considered a rarity. 
The family Sparide affords the most important fish for the table 
found in the Victorian seas, when we take its size (occasionally 
reaching twenty pounds weight), abundance, and excellence to- 
gether into account; it is the Pagrus unicolor, or “snapper” of 
the colonists: and to this family also belongs one of the most 
popular fishes with the anglers in the mouths of the rivers near 
Melbourne, as giving good sport and forming an agreeable ad- 
