218 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
1 occurs especially on the south 
and south-west coasts of 
England and Ireland. It is 
of an orange-scarlet colour 
above, and somewhat silvery 
on the sides, with a large 
black spot on the shoulder. 
Several species of sea- 
bream occur in Australia, 
where they are known as 
SNAPPERS. One of the largest 
of these, which attains a 
length of more than 3 feet 
and a weight of over 40 
lbs., 1s not only considered 
Photo by 1’, Saville-Kent, F.Z.S. |Milford-on-Sea : d 
a oe ] eae excellent eating, but is also 
SNAPPER the most popular sport- 
An Australian species of Sea-bream yielding fish of that colony. 
The ancient Romans 
kept a species of sea-bream, the GILT-HEAD, in their vivariums, where it grew extremely fat. 
This species is said to stir up the sand with its tail, to discover buried shell-fish. It is 
particularly fond of mussels, and the noise it makes in crunching them between its jaws is 
loud enough to be heard by the fishermen. 
Nearly allied to the Sea-breams are a group known, for want of a better name, as the 
THICK-RAYED FISHES, some of which rank as of prime importance among the food-fishes of 
the British Colonies. A general idea of the shape of the members of this family may be 
gathered from the photograph of an Australian GROPER. The name of LONG-FIN, given to one 
species, is bestowed on account of the fact that one or more of the rays of the breast-fin on 
each side is drawn out into a filament, often of very considerable length, which is used as 
an organ of touch. In other species, where the elongation is less, and more rays have under- 
gone modification, an auxiliary organ of locomotion is the result. At the Cape of Good 
Hope species of long-fin are very abundant, and preserved in large quantities for export. 
Other members of this family lack the elongated fin-rays altogether. The fishes known 
as the TUMPETERS of New Zealand and Tasmania belong to this section. They are considered 
by the colonists the best flavoured of any native fishes, and are caten smoked as well as fresh. 
But two species are known, : 
one ranging from 30 to 60 
Ibs. in weight, and the other, 
a much smaller form, scarcely 
attaining a weight of 20 Ibs.,; 
the latter is the more abun- 
dant of the two, though con- | 
fined to the coast of New 
Zealand. 
In the SCORPION-FISHES 
we have a small group in- 
cluding several forms remark- 
able for their ugliness, having 
added to an uncouth shape 
skinny appendages, which, Photo by W, Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] [Milford-on-Sea 
projecting from the body, KING-SNAPPER 
resemble rather leaves of A member of the group of Slime-heads 
