56 NEW SOUTH WALES 
Oliver states that on two occasions boats lying on the outer grounds 
were impaled by sword-fishes and the crews only saved their lives with 
the utmost difficulty. 
Fam. TRICHIURIDA. 
Body elongate ; compressed or ribbon-like; cleft of mouth wide ; with 
several strong teeth in the jaws and on the palate, The spinous and 
soft portions of the dorsal and anal of nearly equal extent, long, 
many-rayed, sometimes terminating in finlets, caudal fin absent or forked. 
These are marine fishes of very voracious habits, inhabiting mostly 
tropical or subtropical seas. It is either a surface fish or goes to 
moderate depths like Berycide. 
‘ 
The Barracouta. 
The “ Barracouta” (Thyrsites atun) is the only valuable fish of this 
small family in Australian waters, but it is extremely rare in New 
South Wales. It is got in abundance in Bass’s Straits and the Tas- 
manian coasts, and is sent in considerable quantity smoked and salted 
to the Sydney fishmongers. : 
This genus (Thyrsites) has the body rather elongate, without scales. 
The first dorsal continuous, with the spines of moderate strength, and 
extending to the second dorsal. From two to six finlets behind the 
dorsal and anal. Several long narrew sharp teeth in the jaws ; teeth 
on the palatine bones. The species reach a length of 4 or 5 feet, and 
are valuable food fishes. The Barracouta, Barracuda, or Barracoota 
(and various other ways of spelling) is found from the Cape of Good 
Hope to New Zealand. In the latter place it is also known as 
“Snoek,” and is exported from the Colony into Mauritius and Batavia as 
a regular article of commerce. J’. prometheus, another species, extends 
from Madeira to Polynesia, and Dr. Giinther thinks that our 7. solandri, 
Cuv. and Val. is the same. The Tasmanian King-fish is ZT. micropus, 
Castelnau, one of the most delicious table fishes. It is much broader 
in proportion to its length than the Barracouta, and is caught at depths 
of 10 or 20 fathoms, off the south coast of Tasmania, in rocky places. 
The writer has had many a day’s fishing off South Cape in Tasmania, 
and very frequently ere the fish was drawn to the surface it was bitten 
in half or sometimes the head only left on the hook by the numerous 
sharks which abounded in the locality. The Schnapper on our outer 
grounds is often brought in as a fragment, owing to the Blue Pointer 
Shark and other robbers. 
The Barracoutas are well described as voracious fishes. They are 
easily caught from the stern of sailing-ships in Bass’s Straits with no 
bait or only a piece of red rag. In 1857 the writer was on board a 
pilot schooner taking emigrants to Guichen Bay, S.A. Fair weather 
but foul winds kept us out to sea many days beyond our anticipated 
time and food began to get very scarce. Fortunately we came across an 
immense shoal of Barracouta, and for three days caught as many as we 
wished with nothing but a hook and line trailing fast astern. The 
quicker the vessel was going the better they used to seize the hook. 
