340 5^55, Pike, and Perch 



Linnaeus, in 1758, who called it synagris, as 

 it resembled a related fish of Europe {Dentex 

 dentex), whose old name was synagris. Catesby 

 mentioned the lane snapper in his " History of 

 Carolina," in 1743. It is abundant from the 

 Florida Keys to South America, and not uncom- 

 mon on the west coast of Florida, as far north as 

 Tampa Bay, and west to Pensacola. 



The lane snapper resembles very much the 

 yellow-tail in the shape of its body, which is semi- 

 elliptical in outline, compressed, with the back 

 regularly curved from the snout to the tail; its 

 depth is a little more than a third of its length. 

 Its head is as long as the depth of the body ; the 

 mouth is large, and the snout pointed. It is rose 

 color, tinged with silver below, with a narrow 

 bluish or greenish border on the top of the back ; 

 the belly is white, tinged with yellow ; there are 

 deep yellow stripes along the sides, with indis- 

 tinct, broad, rosy cross bars ; the iris of the eye 

 and the lips are scarlet ; the cheeks and gill- 

 covers are rosy, with blue- above ; the pectoral fins 

 are pink, the lower fins yellow, the soft dorsal 

 pink, the spiny dorsal translucent, with yellow 

 border, and the caudal fin scarlet ; there is a large 

 and conspicuous dark blotch just below the front 



