90 Big Game Fishes 



appears to be from Brazil to North Carolina, but 

 the outer Florida reef and the warm waters of 

 the West Indies are its favorite haunts, where the 

 large individuals enter the deep-blue channels of 

 reefs and the smaller fishes frequent the shallow 

 lagoons. The color of the barracuda is influ- 

 enced more or less by its environment. I have 

 seen them on the gray or nearly white coral 

 sandy bottom of a lagoon when their simula- 

 tion of the tone was almost perfect. The large 

 specimens are frequently dark green above, or 

 gray ; the sides in the young splashed with black, 

 occasionally having a decided black stripe; the 

 sides and under portion of adults silver ; some of 

 the fins dark. 



About the keys of the Tortugas group the fish 

 is found in great numbers. The spawning occurs 

 in early spring. Very young fishes are rarely 

 seen ; others from eight inches to two feet being 

 common in the shallows. Certain barracudas 

 school, this being particularly true of the Cali- 

 fornian species, to be referred to ; but the great 

 Florida barracuda is a " solitary," an ugly, fierce, 

 and threatening fish, and I can conceive of no 

 "countenance" more savage and vindictive among 

 fishes than this, coming, as I have seen it, out of 



