The Grouper Family 301 



times called yellow-fish, a better and more de- 

 scriptive name, but no doubt nigger-fish it always 

 will be. It differs from the other groupers in the 

 less number of spiny rays in the dorsal fin ; other- 

 wise it is much the same. It was described by 

 Linnseus, in 1758, from the account of the "yel- 

 low-fish" by Catesby, in 1743, from the Bahamas. 

 Linnaeus named it fiilvus, or " tawny," from its 

 coloration. This is also a fish belonging to the 

 West Indian fauna, its range extending from the 

 Bahamas and the Florida Keys to South America. 

 The outline of body of the nigger-fish is similar 

 to that of the hinds, being nearly elliptical, and 

 with a depth of a third of its length, and moder- 

 ately compressed. The head is long and pointed, 

 longer than the depth of the body, with an evenly 

 curved profile from the snout to the dorsal fin ; 

 the lower jaw projects very much ; the mouth is 

 large, with narrow bands of teeth, and small 

 canines. Its general color is yellow, darker or 

 orange-red on the back, with two black spots on 

 the tail ; there are a few violet spots about the 

 eye, and some blue spots on the head and anterior 

 half of the body, those on the head with dark 

 margins ; the head, and pectoral and dorsal fins, 

 are reddish. 



