f 
oR Sad 
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Here at last is a “tropical fish” that is 
different from those with which we are 
familiar. Aquarists will be apt to remark 
its resemblance to one of our American 
game fishes, the black bass, and there is 
a relationship. The genus Terapon is a 
division of the family of Ha:MULID&, one 
of the groups making up the vast assem- 
blage of bass-like fishes of the tropical 
seas. Terapon jarbua was first described 
by the Swedish naturalist, Petrus For- 
skal, in 1775, as Sciaena jarbua. For- 
skal’s specimens were collected in the 
Inecl Seas IUeiieies sin Si, (Chee, woe 
French zoologist, described his genus 
Terapon, to which he transferred our 
subject, so today we know the fish as 
Terapon jarbua (Forskal) Cuvier. The 
native Javanese call it the “Ikan Rong 
Gerong.” ‘This I obtained from a native 
through my Dutch collector, Captain 
Van Dyck, who acted as interpreter. If 
the fish is viewed from above, the black 
stripes appearing on the sides form con- 
centric rings, arranged one within the 
other in a “round and round” pattern. 
Does not Rong Gerong sound like “round 
and round?” The thought may be fanci- 
ful, but it would seem to indicate a pos- 
sibility of the natives adopting a name 
sounding like a description that might 
have been given the fish by a traveler or 
sailor speaking English! The native 
names of some other fish do not, how- 
ever, lend themselves so well to this the- 
ory. Ikan means water, and is always 
placed first. 
In color the Rong Gerong is silvery, 
with a beautiful metallic lustre, darker 
| —TERAPON JARBUA | 
| WALTER LANNOY BRIND, F. Z. S. 
: 
ee etl 
on the back, and shading to pearly white 
on the belly. The stripes and markings 
are black, though at times they appear 
faint, and again become a dark brown. 
The scales are very small, and number 
eighty-five along the lateral line. Six 
specimens reached me direct from Java 
last October, but the smallest ones, barely 
Terapon jarbua 
three-fourths of an inch long, did not 
long survive. At this writing the remain- 
ing four are in fine condition. ‘The larg- 
est measures 2% inches long, 34 inch 
deep and ™% inch thick at the shoulders, 
so it is a sturdy fish. They live quite 
peaceably together, and I have yet to 
notice any antagonism. In its native coun- 
tries the species frequents the sea, but is 
also found in brackish water like that in 
the Hudson River at Spuyten Duyvil, and 
in perfectly fresh water. The tank in 
which I showed several specimens at the 
recent exhibition of The Aquarium So- 
ciety, held in the American Museum of 
Natural History, New York City, con- 
tained one-fifth brackish water from the 
Hudson and four-fifths fresh water. 
The Rong Gerong does not seem to be 
a difficult fish to please. Mine find a 
twenty-gallon aquarium ample. This is 
