ON THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA. 85 



yellow ; fins dusky gray ; sometimes with yellow. A large fish of 

 rather sluggish habits, reaching a length of 3 feet. ' ' Weight to 30 

 pounds ; average about 6 pounds. 



Caught : Rod and reel, or hand line, 18-21 line, 4^-6$ hook. 

 Still fishing, bottom and floating, around docks, bridges, beacon 

 stakes, spiles, etc. Bait : Shrimps, Prawns and Crustaceans generally, 

 cut Mullet and other fish. Edible, A 1. One of the very best 

 edible fish up to 10 pounds. 



Illustration. Page. 



8o. "NEOMjENIS GRISEUS." 1255 



No illustration. 1256 

 Snappers; "Head 2V+ ; depth 2^ to Z%. D. X, 14 ; 



Gray Snapper; A. Ill, 8; scales (6) 7-50-12; 47 pores. Body 



Mangrove Snapper ; comparatively elongate, the back not strongly 

 compressed, little elevated ; profile almost straight 

 from snout to nape, thence gently convex. Snout 

 rather pointed, 3 in head. Eye rather small, 4^5 in head. Interorbi- 

 tal space gently convex, 6 in head ; occipital keel little prominent ; 

 preorbital rather broad, byi to 6j4 in head. Mouth large ; jaws sub- 

 equal ; maxillary reaching front of pupil, 2f in head ; upper jaw with 

 a narrow band of villiform teeth, outside of which is a single series 

 of enlarged teeth ; 4 canines in front of upper jaw, 2 of them quite 

 large, y§ diameter of eye ; lower jaw with a very narrow band of 

 villiform teeth in front of jaw only ; outside of these a single row of 

 teeth larger than outer teeth of upper jaw, becoming canine-like in 

 adult ; tongue with an oval patch of teeth, its width about j4 its 

 length ; vomer with an arrow-shaped patch of teeth, with backward 

 prolongation on the median line, its length about twice its width in 

 front. Gill rakers rather short and thick, their length about yi diam- 

 eter of eye, about 8 on lower arch, with no rudimentary ones before 

 them. Preopercle with its posterior margin nearly vertical, with a 

 rather broad and deep emargination. Preopercle finely serrate above, 

 the teeth coarser at the angle. Scales comparatively large, the rows 

 in horizontal series below the lateral line, those above running par- 

 allel with the lateral line until below the soft dorsal, where they 

 become slightly irregular and oblique ; 7 rows of scales on cheek ; an 

 embedded row on interopercle ; one row on subopercle and 7 on 

 opercle ; temporal region with about 3 rows of large scales ; top 



