The Grouper Family 299 



THE CONEY 



(Petrometopon cruentatus) 



This beautiful fish is allied to the groupers, 

 and belongs to the family Serranida, previously 

 described. It was described and named by Lace- 

 pede from a drawing by Plumier, made from a 

 specimen from Martinique. Lacepede recorded 

 it in his "Natural History of Fishes," 1803, 

 conferring on it the name cruentatus, meaning 

 "dyed with blood," in allusion to its red spots. 

 It belongs to the West Indian fauna, with a range 

 extending from the Florida Keys to Brazil ; it is 

 quite common about Key West, being seen in 

 the markets every day. 



The body has the somewhat elliptical outline 

 of the other groupers, but is more oblong and 

 deeper, its depth being more than a third of its 

 length. The head is moderate in size, rather 

 pointed, its length less than the depth of the 

 body ; the mouth is large, with the lower jaw pro- 

 jecting but slightly; the teeth are in narrow 

 bands, the inner series long, slender, and depress- 

 ible; the canines small. Its ground color is 

 reddish gray, a little paler below ; the head and 

 body are covered with bright vermilion spots, 

 larger and brighter anteriorly. 



