216: THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
EMPEROR-FISH, which ranges 
from the east coast of Africa 
to the Indian and Malayan 
seas. The ground-colour of 
the body is deep blue, relieved 
by some thirty golden-yellow 
stripes running from the 
shoulder backwards to the 
tail. Crossing the head is 
a crescent-shaped bar of black 
edged with yellow, whiist a 
“i similarly coloured patch runs 
; upward from the pectoral fins 
Photo by HW’ Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] [Miltord-onSea to within a short distance of 
THE MISCALLED ARCHER-FISH the top of the back. This 
species, which attains a length 
of 15 inches, is highly esteemed 
for food in India. The most beautiful of all, perhaps, is the zebra-fish of the Indo-Malayan 
seas, which has the ground-colour of yellow, striped with vertical bars of blue edged with 
drown, a yellow tail, and an anal fin barred with narrow blue lines. 
A tubed-shaped mouth is a common feature of the fishes of this group, and two Indian 
species in which this character is especially well developed have acquired the habit of shooting 
therefrom a drop of water at insects resting on overhanging foliage fringing the sea or along 
the banks of rivers. Having sighted its quarry, it would seem the fish moves upwards to 
the surface of the water, and with careful aim ejects its liquid bullet with such unerring 
precision that its prey is invariably knocked down and speedily seized. On this account these 
fishes are commonly known as ARCHER-FISHES. The archer-fishes are sometimes kept in 
tubs of water, for the purpose of affording amusement to their captors. Somehow the 
shooting prowess of these fishes has been accredited to an allied form, shown in the above 
photograph. 
The peculiar shape of these fishes is sufficiently indicated by the photograph already 
mentioned, but a large series would be necessary to show the numerous variations, some of 
which are quite remarkable. The brilliancy of the coloration is probably protective, since the 
most brightly coloured forms live amongst coral-reefs built by gorgeous polyps, or coral-animals, 
so that amidst such surround- 
ings the fishes are quite in- 
conspicuous. 
The RED MULLETS occur 
chiefly in tropical seas, but 
one species inhabits European 
waters, and occur sparsely 
around the British Islands. 
Occasionally, however, these 
Ashes visit the British coasts in 
vast shoals, more than 5,000 
having been taken in a single 
night in August, 1819, in 
Weymouth Bay, whilst in | 
May, 1851, 10,000 were taken ‘~ 
off Yarmouth in one week. 
Although about forty STRIPED RED MULLET 
species of red mullet are The head is ornamented with brilliant blue and violet stripes 
So named on account of its supposed habit of shooting water at insects 
Photo by #%, Saville-Kent, F.Z.8.] [Milford-on- Sea 
