30 MALAYAN FISHES. 



Konghlev writes, " The most prolific grounds are found to be 

 between 50 and 60 fathoms in depth," and again, " Many species, 

 which before the advent of trawling were very rarely seen in tlie 

 markets and which were in fact considered by many to occur only 

 in small numbers on our coast, could now be counted in thou- 

 sands."' 



KNIQHT-FISHES. 



{^lONOCENTRIDAE. ) 



The Setonggang (Monocentris japonicxts) is a curious little 

 fish with enormous bony scales and two long ventral spines. It 

 has no edible value. 



" BULL'S-EYES." 



(PEMPHERIDAE.) 



I have no personal knowledge of these fishes and, as they are 

 never captured in numbers, they are unimportant from an economic 

 standpoint. 



" DRUMMERS. " 



(KYPHOSIDAE.) 



The Telan rumput {Kyphosus cinerascens) as its name ex- 

 plains is a herbivorous fish, subsisting chiefly on " sea-grass " and 

 " sea-moss." It is a congener of the Drummer of New South 

 Wales {Kyphosus sydneyanus) and belongs to the same family as 

 that excellent food and sporting fish known in Xew South Wales 

 as the Blackfish. 



DUSKY-PERCH. 



{LOBOTIDAE.) 



The Pechah periok (Lobotes surinamensis) is a large perch- 

 like estuarv fish which reaches a length of 3 or 4 feet and a 

 weight of 25 to 30 pounds. It is known in Australia as the Dusky 

 Perch. 



According to Boulenger's cla^^sification, the family contains 

 two genera, Lobotes and Datnioides, each with two species, and 

 though the two species of Datnioides are known to occur in the 

 estuaries and rivers of the Malay Peninsula, they have not yet, as 

 far as I am aware, been identified under a Malay name. 



The Pechah periok is an excellent food fish and it readily 

 takes a fish bait. 



It has a very wide range, being found in Queensland, the West 

 Indie.-, on the east coast of the United States of America, as far 

 North as Cape Cod, in the Mediterranean Sea, India and China. 



