SOUTHERN COAST FISHES. 



40; 



und reaches a weight of 800 lbs. It is a bottom fish, in habits like 

 the grouper. Smaller specimens are taken with the hook, and are 

 good eating. Larger ones can only be taken with spear or g^un. 



SILURID.E. 

 Salt Water CA-msK.—Ariofsis milierti. Gill. 



Much resembles the fresh water catfish, but is a handsomei 

 fish, both in form and color. It has the barbels dependent from 

 the mouth, and strong spines in the pectoral and dorsal fins, capa- 

 ble of inflicting painful wounds upon careless hands. They are 

 numerous, and greedy biters, but are generally thrown away, 01 

 left for the coons and buzzards. Size in the Indian River, Florida 

 ten or twelve pounds. At Mosquito Inlet, from two five to pounds 



Note.— Prof. G. Brown Goode, in the " U. S. BuUetin," 1882, states 

 that there are at least twenty-flve species of the family Carangidae on the 

 Atlantic Coast, and three on the Pacific, all of them eatable, but none, 

 excepting the Pampano, of much commercial importance. They are 

 closely allied to the Mackerels, but are distinguished from them chiefly 

 by the absence of flnlets, and by the fact that they have uniformly but 

 twenty-four vertebrae, ten abdominal, and fourteen caudal, while the 

 Mackerels hare uniformly more, both abdominal and caudal. 



