FISHES. 213 



occurs on the Florida and Texas coasts. Although sea-fishes, most are quite at home 

 in the fresh-water, and indeed are regarded by some as fresh-water fishes. They 

 reach a moderate size, and are held in considerable esteem for the table. The species 

 are all very similar in external appeai-ance and colors. 



We now commence with another series, whose parentage is perhaps the same as 

 that of the Scombroidea, and which have been provisionally combined in the super- 

 family PERCOIDEA. 



First are fishes gener.ally oblong and compressed, but exhibiting considerable varia- 

 tion in fo]-m, with scales well developed, rough, and arranged in very oblique series; 

 the lateral line concurrent with the back and continued on the caudal fin to its end ; 

 the head compressed or inflated, and the roof of the skull more or less excavated by 

 tunnels, channels, and holes : in the specialized types the head ends in a blunt snout 

 overhanging the lower jaw, and such types are also provided with notches and holes , 

 above the upper lip ; the mouth is moderately cleft ; there are two dorsal fins, the 

 anterior composed of a modei'ate number of spines, the posterior long ; the anal is 

 generally short, and armed with not more than two spines, the second of which is 

 often very lai-ge ; the pectorals have branched rays, and the ventrals are thoracic and 



Fig. 121. — Vynoscion regalis, weak-fish, squeteague. 



provided with a spine and five rays each. The constituents of this family (Sci^ni- 

 D^) are numerous, and many of them are of considerable commercial importance. 

 In Polynesia it is almost unrepresented, but elsewhere in the tropics and temperate 

 seas has a goodly number of species ; of these, eighteen occur along the Atlantic sea- 

 coast, and seven along the Pacific sea-coast of the United States. 



The weak-fish and its relations, constituting the genus Oynoscion, is distinguished 

 for the forward pointed head and projecting lower jaw, and the canine teeth which 

 are present in the front of the upper jaw. Five species occur in the United States. 



The common weak-fish or squeteague ( Cynoscion regcdis) is silvery, darker above, 

 and marked with many small irregular dark blotches, some of which form undulating 

 lines running downwards and forwards; the dorsal and caudal fins are dusky; the 

 ventrals, anal, and lower edge of caudal yellowish and sometimes speckled. It varies 

 in size according to season and locality ; on the coast of New Jersey, fishes do not 

 average much more than a pound, but occasionally there and elsewhere they may be 

 found of from six to ten pounds weight, and fishes weighing even thirty pounds have 

 been caught. The weak-fish is essentially a coast and salt-water fish, but frequently 

 runs up tidal waters, and seems to delight in estuaries or " the mouths of fresh-water 

 streams where there is a mixture of fresh water." It is a resident fish in the south, 



