oo 4 THE PRIST1P0MIBM. 



over the greater part of its body, becoming slightly paler on the sides, and changing to golden- 

 yellow on the abdomen, with the slightest possible dash of red. On the upper part of the 

 back, and occupying portions of the dorsal fish, are three large spots of deep rich purple, 

 between which are placed four similarly shaped spots of pale rose. These spots, however, are 

 lather variable in number. 



The Red Grouper (Mpinephilus morio) is an important food-fish, forming much of the 

 fish cargoes gathered by the fishermen on the Florida coast for the Havana market. 



In the course of the preceding pages our notice has been drawn to many remarkable 

 forms of fishes, some terrible in their fearful armatures of spines and teeth, some repulsive 

 from their slimy exterior and coldly malignant aspect, and others almost bordering on the 

 grotesque from the odd and eccentric manner in which various parts of their structure 

 are modified. The Tesselated Parrot-fish of the Ceylonese seas, though not strikingly 

 unique in its external appearance, as many of the species already described, is, when closely 

 examined, one of the most wonderfully colored fish in the world. The whole body is 

 covered with a beautifully drawn pattern of elongated hexagons, as perfect and regular as 

 1 1 lose of a honeycomb. 



The colors of this remarkable fish are as follow: The general hue of the Tesselated 

 Parrot-fish is azure-blue, covered with a hexagonal network of golden-yellow. The oddly 

 shaped head is bright yellow, streaked and spotted with blue. The dorsal and anal fins are 

 biown edged with green, and the pectorals and ventrals are brown with the front rays green. 

 The tail fin is wholly green. The natives call this fish by the name of Laboo Girawah, the 

 former term being the name of a certain gourd or pumpkin which is marked in a somewhat 

 similar fashion. 



The species belonging to this genus are very numerous, and have received their rather 

 appropriate title of Parrot-fishes from the rich beauty of their colors and the peculiar form 

 of their jaws, which are very strong, covered with great numbers of mosaic-like teeth, and 

 curved in a manner that greatly resembles the beak of a parrot. As the fish wears out the 

 teeth rapidly while crushing the corallines and other hard substances on which it feeds, a pro- 

 vision is made for insuring a continual supply of new teeth to replace those which are worn 

 away and rendered useless. The young teeth are perpetually being developed towards the 

 base of the jaws, and by a beautiful yet simple adaptation of existing parts, which cannot 

 be made intelligible without the use of diagrams, advance in orderly succesion towards the 

 front, and take their places with unfailing certainty in the densely compacted mosaic-work 

 which arms the jaws. 



Before leaving this family we must briefly examine another very large genus, here repre- 

 sented by the Banded Mullet (Apbgonfasciatus). 



This fish is found oil' the Pejee Islands, upon the coast of Mozambique, and in the 

 Australian and Moluccan seas. The genus to which it belongs comprises about sixty species, 

 all inhabiting the warmer waters, and some entering the mouths of rivers. They are most 

 plentiful in the Indian and Australian seas, but are never seen in the colder waters of the 

 northern and southern regions. The scales of these fish are large, and fall off almost at a 

 touch. The gill-cover is rather formidably armed, the operculum bearing spines, and the 

 pneoperculum having a double-notched ridge. 



The coloring of the Banded Mullet is bold and striking. The general tint of the body is a 

 glowing rose, and a series of broad dark bands are drawn along the body, four or five on each 

 side, and one on the back. At the base of the tail fin is a large round black spot, and a black 

 band runs across the root of the second dorsal and anal fins. 



The next family, termed the Pristipomidse, after the typical genus, forms a large and 

 somewhat important group of lishes. They are all carnivorous, i.e., they feed upon fish in 

 preference to other diet; they have no molar or cutting teeth, and all inhabit the waters of the 



