The Bass Family 119 



Its color is olive-gray, darkest on the back, 

 whitish below, with seven oblique dusky and 

 diffuse bars along the upper portion of the 

 sides. The three-forked appearance of the cau- 

 dal fin is more pronounced than in the northern 

 sea-bass; otherwise there is no structural differ- 

 ence, except in coloration. Its habits are simi- 

 lar. The same remarks apply equally to the 

 following species, except that it has a few less 

 gill-rakers than the northern species. They may 

 eventually all prove to be the same species, or 

 geographical varieties. The directions as to 

 fashing apply as well to both these southern 

 forms as to the northern sea-bass. 



THE GULF SEA-BASS 



( Centropristes ocyiirus) 



This species was described from the " snapper 

 banks," off Pensacola, by Jordan and Evermann 

 in 1886, who named it ocy^irus, or "swift tail." It 

 has not been recorded from any other locality. 

 It agrees with the northern sea-bass, except as 

 mentioned, and in its coloration, which is grayish 

 or pale olive, darker on the back, with three longi- 

 tudinal rows of black blotches along the sides. It 

 is called "tally-wag" by the snapper fisherman. 



