58 WONDERS OF THE DEEP 



These varied in colour, the chief being blue, red, 

 and grey. In appearance they somewhat resemble 

 the English mackerel. Off the coast of Florida, in 

 the United States, they are caught in large numbers 

 and are highly esteemed. Snappers display con- 

 siderable activity in their search for food. 



Here is a fish with a curious snout, a glance 

 at which immediately recalls the homely parrot's 

 beak. The teeth of the jaws are joined together in 

 such a way as to form a sharp-edged beak, which 

 gives such a close resemblance to the parrot's beak. 

 This peculiar formation of the beak enables the 

 parrot fish to bite or scrape off those parts of the 

 coral stocks, that contain the polyp, or to cut off the 

 branches of the tough seaweed which constitutes 

 the diet of some of the species. Over a hundred 

 different kinds of parrot fish have been recognised 

 by scientists. Being a tropical fish, they display a 

 most beautiful colouration. Some of the parrot fish 

 attain a length of three feet. Many of the species 

 are eatable, and some are highly esteemed; but 

 there are several kinds that are dangerously 

 poisonous. 



A curious small fish found swimming about in 

 these waters is the grunt, which has been so named 

 because, when taken out of the water, it makes a 

 strange grunting noise something like that of a pig. 

 Hence they are also known by the names of "pig 

 fish " and " growler." 



One oceanic creature possesses a head that bears 

 a close resemblance to that of the horse; hence its 



